


"Into the Deep"

by chroniclesofatimelord



Series: Chronicles of a Time-Lord [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen, Sealiathan, The Eocenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 15:36:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10856931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chroniclesofatimelord/pseuds/chroniclesofatimelord
Summary: Second tale in the first season for the female Doctor is written by Robert J. Meddings. The Doctor becomes involves with an underwater mystery which turns out to be the missing link between the Silurians and the Sea Devils. This race is called the Eocenes who are far more warrior-like than their cousins.The setting is an exploratory science facility developed on an oil rig near South America. The crew and the Doctor must find a way to communicate with the Eocenes before they overwhelm the oil rig. And the rest of the world.





	"Into the Deep"

"Into the Deep"  
By Robert J. Meddings

Part One   
Chapter one  
That crevice of blackness opened up in the waters like a shifting horizon while the depths plunged forever into the ocean. Such a rage of the waters grew inviting, sordid, like a living thing.   
Forcing into the whirlwind of secrets, growing, diverting, the waves continued to pulse with a strange thrill like seconds of the hour. It became a rhythm, a striking, cutting move like a watery pendulum.   
A single, small boat called Essex Prize fought the deep, sinking further into the sleep of the waters. It was like going through a giant beast that was resting in the bottoms. Never wavering.   
The North Atlantic Ocean floor stretched outward into a landscape of coral reefs and tropical plants caked with debris. Those rocks greeted the intruding ship like an alien world.   
Now the pod ship's lights pierced into the tearing darkness which opened wide around it. Now that frantic canon of watery bliss woke under the darting boat.   
The small boat made its descent further between the gouges of rock while finding the forbidding topics sitting in the creeping depths below. The pilots observed the ocean floor from inside the boat.   
“Do you see anything?” Hammond said.   
“Nothing yet,” Kwame said. “Still disappointed.”  
“You would be. We're thousands of feet below the surface and you still find time to be grumpy,” Hammond said.   
“I know.”  
Both Hammond and Kwame were seismologists added to the current oil rig crew of mechanics to explore the cause of the recent quakes in this area. It became a daunting thing to explore this far down in the ocean.  
Hammond lifted his hand to move his fingers around along his cheek, pressing in the indentations of his cheeks. He looked like a sculpture looking for pressure points.   
“Ow!” Hammond glowered.   
“Haven't you gotten that toothache fixed?” Kwame said.   
“I'm waiting until I retire so I can get the full medical package which includes dentists.”  
“You should have brushed your teeth everyday.”  
“And I'm paying for it now. Ow!”  
“I'm hoping we find something here,” Kwame said. “Then we can all go home.”  
“It'll be getting dark in a few hours,” Hammon said. “We ought to return to the surface soon.”  
“Do you expect something to wave to us down here? Maybe do a juggling act? There's nothing here in this part of the ocean. I keep telling you that.”  
“I welcome anything different,” Hammond said.   
“You would, old man.”  
“I plan on retiring next week. I like to see myself enjoying the last moments of my work before handing it to young whippersnappers like yourself.”  
“Hang on, do you see something?” Kwame said. 

Chapter two  
Both of the men sat next to each other in the cramped space of the diving boat while watching the secular circles of rocks on the cracked floors. Shadows dipped onto the rocks like grasping dark hands.   
Declan Hammond was someone in his late fifties with a temple of gray hair working around his ears and a face eroded with the wrinkles of time. He looked like someone who walked all roads of life.   
Such a long life left a craggy chin, a powerful face, sorrowful eyes and long cheeks and hair that was like a foggy storm. His features suggested someone who battled life itself.  
“I see just coral reefs and nothing else,” Hammond said.   
“I could've sworn...” Kwame said.   
“You're starting to jump at shadows, son. There's nothing out here.”  
“I'm not afraid,” Kwame snapped.  
“Of course, you're not. That's why you think the Bogeyman is just around the next corner.”  
“I know what I saw. Stop that.”  
His friend was a much younger man by thirty years, being more outward, forthright. Being the exact opposite of the more poised, careful older man. Foday Kwame was a shade darker in his skin due to his mother's African heritage, spilling into his not unhandsome features.   
His nose looked flattened while his hair was cut short like mowed grass. He moved like the gentle breeze while using the controls to steer the boat. Kwame hoped the old man's pain disappeared faster than snowflakes in July. It was annoying the younger man.  
“Isn't is amazing?” Hammond said. “These depths have remained undisturbed for millions of years.”  
“Yeah.”  
“It's like visiting the distant past, isn't it? How those reefs remained the same. We're looking at the earth as how it should be,” Hammond continued.  
“You got a pretty romantic view of the ocean,” Kwame said. “It's just full of fish and more fish. That's it. Not the most interesting spot in the world.”  
“You underestimate the beauty of it. There's a wide variety of residents in the ocean we still don't know about,” Hammond continued. “It needs to be understood. To be discovered.”  
“I told you. Romantic stuff.”  
“It's all waiting for us at the cusp of the hand.”  
“Whatever. I'm going to take seismic readings here,” Kwame said.   
“You know after hundreds of years, we still don't know how dolphins talk to each other,” Hammond said.   
“There's big fish, and there's little fish. That's all I need to know. Is this where the last seismic activity took place?” Kwame said.  
“You do take the fun out of everything!”   
“I get paid by the hour,” Kwame said. “Let's get closer. Shall we?”  
When the pilots plotted in the next course, steering the small craft into the void of the deep, they tore through the nothingness. That booming relic of the Atlantic ocean danced with more vegetation.   
It was like seeing a giant bed of grassy knolls. More rolling gouges of rock climbed into strange structures sticking from the compelling landscape filled with rocky outcrops or bay mud. So many fine specimens here.   
More, oh so much more, could be seen when transcending the world of the water. You would find corals, fish, algae, crabs, marine plants and other biological-created sediment on the sea floor.   
There grew too much to name, but one could find anything from the Candleflame Egg Slime to the Sweet Dyeball, the Haymaker's Laccaria to the Deer False Coral Mushroom or the White-egg Shelf waiting in their community of life at the very bottom.   
Hammond knew how to play a good game of cards, and could recite any music from the classical composers from Beethoven to Mozart. And Seismology was his thing.  
The Essex Prize carved a path further about a thousand meters deep into the ridges of the abyss swarming under them like mixed baggage. It stirred closer to the benthic zone where secrets of life were held. 

Chapter three  
Declan Hammond seemed to teeter in his chair, feeling the suspense of exploring, while his co-pilot steered the ship through the boundaries of the strange topography with the abysmal plains.   
Now the pits caved further downward in a cascading slide while the ship with the bright lights dipped into the whispering blackness. Such a stillness in the ocean could be felt here.   
“I think we ought to get in touch with Commander Murray,” Hammond said.   
“What for?” Kwame said. “There's nothing here.”  
“For an update.”  
“That report can wait. Wait a minute. Can you feel something down here?”   
“Thought you kept saying nothing's down here,” Hammond said.  
“No, no, I feel a tremor. Don't you?”   
“If you're trying to frighten me, you're not doing a good job,” Hammond said.   
“There is something! Feels like eyes watching,” Kwame said.  
“Your imagination is going overboard.”  
“What are you afraid of?” Kwame said.   
“This is the part of the ocean never seen before. We're looking at a different world here. This is much bigger than we are. It is bigger than anything we've dealt with before.”  
“So what?”  
“I think we ought to trend carefully,” Hammond said. “Sometimes the past hides things from us. Even in a place like this.”  
“You're starting to sound like my grandfather. You know what happened to him? He took to drinking and died from it,” Kwame said.  
“I'm sorry to hear that.”  
“Never made college. I'm the only one in the family who did.”  
Now the calm season of nothing rippled more in the ocean layer like new messages from the deep. Ever subtle was the springing life which twisted around the coral rigors which stuck out like stone fingers.   
This was a place where memories remained unchanged for years as the timeless ruins of the coral reefs sat like old trophies while the sheet of rocks glared back from the terminal gulfs.   
“I'm getting something on the readings,” Kwame said. “Do you see something out there?”  
“It's near the seismic activity,” Hammond added. “It's the heartbeat of the ocean.”  
“Wait. Do you see it?” There!”  
“No.”  
“There! There! To the right! Sticking out like a needle!”  
“I don't see anything except the coral reefs. And the rocks.”  
“You must be half blind!”  
Kwame slowed the small boat down while the twin columns of lights poured into the dark like shooting flares. Now the bright lights grew like stabbing lances into the sobering dark while they got closer.   
His black hands piloted the boat like an intruding beast of metal. Following deeper into the plumage of the water, he made the Essex Prize cut a few knots before hovering near the bed of rocks.   
Shifting forward with a leaning pose, pointing his finger at the window, Kwame was jabbing his hand in the direction passed the Haymaker's Laccaria of the water. His face melted into a crazed excitement.   
“I know I see it now!” Kwame exclaimed. “Do you see it? It looks like a man holding onto the reefs!”

Chapter four  
The needling corridors of crude metal slate, offering unpolished doors and caches, looked like a neglected neighborhood. Those narrow halls stretched through several intersections looked grim.   
This place resembled a warehouse. Even the ceiling lights flickered with fatigue while the whoosh of air grew stale. Back and forth in the pallid cluster of metal, it became a wobbling existence.   
Now, stirring with approaching echoes, the sound of grinding engines could be heard down the hallway. That cosmic gouge of noises filled every inch of this place like a storm about to hit.   
Right now, it's calm.   
Perhaps too calm.   
With a magical ease like a flying carpet flying into the scene, the blue box appeared out of nowhere before standing midway in the cramped hallway. It remained on the spot as if it belonged there.   
Though the double doors of the blue box standing seven feet tall, rattling them aside for a clear opening, a woman stepped out into the cliché corridor which looked more like a set from a horror movie.   
There was still a plain foot's worth of doorway and the roof above her head while she stepped out. Enough room for her not to knock her head with any accidents.  
Someone else stepped out behind the woman as they looked around to get their bearings. The man carried a bow across his back while disappointment fell on his features.   
In a desperate turn, the woman swiveled on her heels before shutting the blue box's doors. She didn't like the idea of someone stumbling into her property. There grew a creaking rasp in the long hall. Her hands locked the doors with a click to the blue box.   
“Thought you were taking me to China, Doctor,” the bowman said. “This doesn't look like China.”  
“I think we might be a little off course,” the Doctor said.   
“A little?”  
“All right. We're a lot off course. It isn't the end of the world, and we can always hop back on for another trip.”  
“I'm getting worried about my brother. It's been a while.”  
“Think of this as a sort of pit stop, TJ. We can do our exploring here and go back to the TARDIS again.”  
“It feels like it's been a hundred years since I've seen him,” TJ said.   
“It'll be no more than a few seconds passed for him when we get back to China,” the Doctor said. “I promise.”  
“He's all the family I got left.”  
“I know the feeling,” the Doctor replied. “I did steer the TARDIS into the right direction. I wonder why earth? This constant going back to earth.”  
“So when it is?” TJ said.   
“That good. You're catching on with the perks of traveling. Indeed. When?” the Doctor said. “I would say to check around here. There's a view screen.”  
Before stepping away from the blue box propped alongside the hall, that magic world called the TARDIS disguised as a British Police Box, TJ stopped in his tracks for a moment.   
“Shush. I think I hear something,” TJ said.   
“Nonsense. There's nothing here except old walls and patches of dust,” the Doctor said.   
As she lifted her finger to the wall, swiping it for a moment, she diligently check the film of dust. The Doctor noticed a name on the wall being Holderness. So this must be the Holderness Station.  
Nothing came to her thoughts regarding the name of the rig. Shrugging her shoulders, moving along towards the metal grate on the north wall, she looked for a mechanism on the wall to open it.   
Her hands fixed around a wheel which looked like a gauge—fingers collapsing the round fixture while she gave it a few cranks. In a few moments, TJ got the idea and helped her along with every turn.   
As the steel wheel shifted, creaking with chaffing stir, the Doctor and TJ were able to make the metal screen rise to reveal the outside world offering beautiful sights like a moving painting.   
“We're underwater,” the Doctor said. “That's amazing. See the stillness of the ocean.”

Chapter five  
“Is this some sort of sea base?” TJ said.   
“Could be an oil rig. Or a fracking rig. Oh, that could be bad,” the Doctor continued.   
“Fracking?”  
“It's a long process involving injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes and so on. They try to force fissures wide open and extract oil from it. Not a good idea. Definitely not.”  
“It looks peaceful out there like a kingdom of seas,” TJ said.   
There sat the watery display which grew into an overwhelming scene scattered with slashes of sunlight enough to brighten the eons of darkness below. It was filled with many things swimming.   
That blackness looked like spilled ink. Several mountains of howling rocks stood while the shifting water stirred like ripples. Marine life such as the angler fish swam in the sea along with the more familiar residents like crabs, lobsters and shrimp.   
It was like seeing a TV documentary from the History Channel as the observers looked at the blissful sea before them separated by a large chasm of glass. There were more schools of fish skirting around.   
TJ could feel the hunger of the ocean. Or perhaps it was the darkness that seemed to press on like an outward, stretched hand. It became a doorway to a fabric of moving space. It was an endless, strangled void.   
That dark belly of the water held the interest of the Doctor and TJ who stood near the spectating glass. Standing near the screen, the Doctor wore violet English riding clothes while the sleek gloves pulled tight over her hands in a perfect fit. It was her idea of dressing up for the occasion—that regal, noble presence matched the intellect hiding in her fair eyes.   
“It is beautiful, gentle and breathtaking,” the Doctor said. “But the ocean can be cold and deadly.”  
“I think it's frightening,” TJ said. “I feel like I'm going to be swallowed by the mouth of the sea.”  
“That's because you're sensing a bit of fear. It's the staggering size of the ocean that puts you off. Just think of its subtle beauty and the life it holds. There is a wonderful side to it. Much like the cosmos we travel in.”  
“It makes me feel small.”  
“You don't need to think of it that way. See the ocean as a sort of protector. A mother hen to coddle you with its great blue.”  
TJ turned slightly as he looked down the hallway, noticing something. He grew uncomfortable.   
“Er, Doctor?” TJ said.   
“Do you mind?” the Doctor said. “I'm trying to enjoy the scene.”  
“Doctor!”  
“What is it?” the Doctor said.   
“Do you remember I told you that I've heard something. It seems like I'm not too far off the mark.”  
As the Doctor pivoted around on her feet, she could see two more people standing before her with solemn faces. It was difficult to get a read on them because they shared stoic expressions.   
The Doctor felt like a comedian trying to win over a tough audience. The one man on the right looked like he carried an authority about him. His name was Benedict Murray according to his badge. And there was Sasha Molan standing next to him. His number one.   
Murray looked at the Doctor as he noticed her imposing, confident frame. They were complete strangers to her, though she tried to break the ice with the people of the future. They were members of the Holderness.   
“It looks like this is not an abandoned rig after all,” the Doctor exclaimed. 

Chapter six  
Both the old man and Kwame sat in the ship while hovering over the coral reefs. It felt like a giant shadow poured over the bedlam of rocks beneath. It looked like God's arena here.   
Kwame could see something clinging to the thrust of rock like a lizard hugging a tree during a storm. They agreed to take a closer look at the unyielding creature being stranded.   
It resembled a man, but not a man—reptilian in its features with the neck exposing gills for breathing. One could see the column of bubbles escaping from the form.   
His head swiveling to his friend, and a confused glare, Kwame was for once at a loss of words. Everyone was. Hammond fiddled with his teeth again while fighting the pain in his mouth.  
“What is it?” Kwame said.   
“You're asking me?” Hammond said. “I'm an expert in seismic activity. But this? It's beyond me.”  
“Might be something evolution skipped over. What do you think?”  
“You got me.”  
“Some help you are.”  
“This could be Kelly's department. She's an environmentalist,” Hammond said.   
“That thing doesn't look like a fish to me. And it doesn't look like a man either,” Kwame said.   
“Maybe the earthquake did something to throw it out of the depths below? Could be some hidden civilization out there.  
“Don't be foolish. That sounds ridiculous. You're hearing yourself?” Kwame said.  
“Why not? What do you think?” Hammond snapped back.  
“I think this is the most important discovery made by man since he invented fire,” Kwame said.   
“Is he even alive?” Hammond said. “I haven't seen him move at all.”  
“Must be. It looks like he's got flaps on his neck for breathing like fishes do. He's breathing underwater!”  
“This is definitely outside our realm of understanding,” Hammond said.   
“I'm going to call him the Miracle Merman.”  
“Dumbest thing I've heard. Why don't you just call him the Gill Man?”  
“Nah. I like my nickname better. I got copyright for sure,” Kwame said.   
“I always knew you were into it for the money,” Hammond grumbled.   
A glaring sound poured over the console while a message appeared on the recorder. Hammond could see the light signaling a communication from the Holderness base.  
His eyes wavered from the strange beast in the waters still clinging to the edges of darkness where a giant crevice opened up like a monster mouth. It was a pitstop of blackness.  
Finally, with a tetchy reaction, Hammond switched on the telemonitor on the small ship's computer. He must be getting old in his age to be annoyed by a simple incoming message.   
The screen showed Commander Murray looking rather crossed, a man who fought through several battles. His greatest opponent was the seas, grappling it with his hands with a terrible obsession.   
“Is there a problem, commander?” Hammond said.   
“You're starting to drift out of range,” Murray said through the intercom. “I don't want you to be out so far.”  
“We think we found something,” Kwame said.   
“What?” Murray said.   
“There's something out here which might be related to the recent tremors we've been recording.”  
“That's nonsense. Nothing out here except the rocks, the fish and the sea.”  
“It might be something from below,” Hammond said.   
“What are you driving at?” Murray said.   
“Permission to investigate this further? We're near the Meleagris Patas fissure which means...”  
“Mark your territory,” Murray interrupted. “I need you to come back to the Holderness. We have some... issues here. We may have intruders.”  
“I'd rather not do that,” Hammond said. “We've come across something very interesting.”  
“You're disobeying a direct order?”   
“Not at all...”  
“I realize you have seniority on this mission, but I'm still in command here. If you don't return to base, I'll bring the Essex Prize back remote.”  
“We might be on the verge of something spectacular,” Hammond said.   
“It'll have to wait,” Murray said.   
“We could be on the verge of finding out what is happening here with the earthquakes,” Hammond said. “And you want us to leave?”  
“Yes.”  
“This is a catch of a lifetime,” Kwame said. “You'll find it interesting too...”  
“Tell my mother about it,” Murray said. “I expect you to be here at the Holderness in a half hour.”

Chapter seven   
“I believe we are expecting technical difficulties,” Hammond said into the intercom.  
“What did you say?” Murray said.   
“Sorry, sir. You're breaking up. Sounds like the signal is going out...”  
When Hammond pulled the switch on the communications console, he settled into his chair with a breath of fatigue. He felt slapped and chocked by the chain of command long enough.  
His hands removed the heartbeat of the communications device as he took out a wire. Kwame cracked a smile while watching the old man dig around the console.   
The pilots in the Essex Prize could only imagine Murray fuming on the other end of the line. That overconfident oaf had that stupid squirrel's tail for hair. Seeing that mosh pit of hair would break your heart.   
“I can't believe you did that,” Kwame said.   
“He's an insufferable person. I can't stand him at times,” Hammond retorted.   
“How on earth do you ever get along together on the Holderness?”  
“We don't talk to each other. That's the first step.”  
“The commander is going to hurt you for this,” Kwame said.   
“Not as much as my toothache hurts right now,” Hammond said.   
“You're still going to get BOTH of us in trouble.”  
“It's my last mission anyway, so I might as well make it interesting,” Hammond said.   
“I'm cobbled along with you which makes me an associate. Murray is high ranking and could get us fired for this.”  
“I'll tell him I forced you into this.”  
“An old man in his sixties forcing a man in his thirties to do something. I'm sure that'll go over well.”  
“I don't care what happens to me,” Hammond said. “But you're a pal...”  
“Thanks. I guess we got something in common. This little discovery we made at the bottom of the ocean.”  
“I'm not taking the risk in losing this discovery,” Hammond continued. “I don't want to come back to this spot near the Meleagris Patas only to find it gone.”  
“I hear you,” Kwame said. “We might as well get to work on bringing our new friend on board the Essex Prize.”  
Not wanting the commander to bring them back to base, Hammond set aside the remote circuit Hammond began the long process of putting on the diving suit.   
It was all the matter of stepping into the suit and locking the helmet on. It wouldn't take him long to go through the motions while standing in the pressure room that would soon release him into the world of water. 

Chapter eight  
Stirring away from the Essex Prize still holding its place in the flotsam of water, hunkering further into the depths, Hammond swam in a free-floating mode through the ocean itself being a few thousand feet below.  
Hammond kept reminding himself it was his last mission. After this, he wouldn't have to worry about working in these conditions while he could sit on the sofa getting fat and eating munchies.   
All over the world he studied seismic activities from Japan to California, from England to the delights of South America, Hammond realized he led a charmed life.   
He ignored the toothache while getting closer to the stumbling ruins under him, poking between the stilted cliffs which were sheared off by the abyss that seemed to smile at him. Hammand still flicked his tongue against his teeth.  
Behind him, making a departure from the Essex Prize, Kwame sailed through the water before catching up with his friend. They skirted between the strange ruins which looked like relics. Hammond turned on the lights on his helmet to throw shed some brightness into a dark place.   
It would be foolish not to give this place a second glance. Could it be Atlantis itself surfacing on the edges of the Meleagris Patas fissure? No, that wouldn't be right. It was just a myth and the Essex Prize pilots dealt in facts.   
“Over here,” Hammond said.   
“I see him,” Kwame said.   
“What do you think? I've never seen anything like this.”  
“I don't think anyone has.”  
“Just look at the fingers. Not human. And the face...”  
“A new species?” Kwame said.   
“Piscine amphibious humanoid,” Hammond said, “Maybe it's a branch that's disappeared during the prehistoric age only to reappear again? Sort of like how the Coelacanth was found to be around for four hundred million years.”  
“How do you know about all that?” Kwame said.  
“I watch a lot of TV.”  
“You're suggesting that this thing could be around for millions of years too?”   
“Why not? We're near the mouth of the Amazon where nothing has changed since the dinosaurs prowled around,” Hammond said.   
“I hope this thing isn't a dinosaur,” Kwame said. “Could be bad for us.”  
“It's a missing link,” Hammond said.   
“This is more monster than man. Maybe it's amphibian? You told me about the past, but I think it's throwing us a fast curve at us.”  
“This could be something Kelly could look into,” Hammond said. “She studies the environment big time, and I bet you she'll have a field day with it.”  
“Bring it on board the Holderness? I'm sure the commander will just love that,” Kwame said with sarcasm.   
“This thing looks injured. It'll be our obligation to take it in,” Hammond said.   
“I'm not sure if we're prepared for this. I think this is more science fiction than anything else,” Kwame said.   
“Would you leave a bird with a broken wing on its own?” Hammond said.  
“My father always told me to leave it. That it carried germs.”  
“Your father never saw a reptilian man sprung out of nowhere.”  
“All right, all right. I'm convinced. We'll bring in the Miracle Merman.”  
“Don't call him that,” Hammond said through the intercom. “It's the most ridiculous name I've heard.”  
“Heh heh. It's a good name. Very catchy.”  
They began the process of prying the creature from the coral reefs, pulling its creeping fingers from the rock. Now that monster had a giant frame which was towering while Kwame felt a chill going down in him.   
Its skin was like tough leather with alligator-like characteristics. It defied every theory of evolution put out by the good people of science. This gave Charles Darwin a good kick in the head.   
Hammond continued to pull at the fingers with extra care while his friend helped with the proceedings. Their helmets gleamed with piercing lights penetrating the lofty surroundings. Both men worked on saving the creature from being left alone in the Meleagris Patas crevice.   
“Might I remind you it's going to get dark soon?” Kwame said. “Night is coming.”  
“You did.”  
Somewhere below, beneath the depths of the ocean, was the middling nightmare filled with more water. The strangest mantra pulled out from the deep like a frightened child.   
There grew a pegging cry which sounded more like a baying, flitting from the sleepless death of the darkness. It was a wretched shriek which poured from the deep like a wrecking ball of sound. Something big.   
It tore through the expanse in the Meleagris Patas with a hellish greeting before being pushed out into the long silence again. 

Chapter nine  
The rig known as the Holderness stood like a fortress of metal overlooking the watery surface of the ocean. It lurched over the nothingness which spread into miles of nature's bliss.   
It became the playground for shark, crabs and other life. A flock of dolphins popped out of the watery belly of the sea before returning to the comfort of the sea.   
The Doctor and TJ were taken to the office center near the top of the staggering structure sweeping with man-made strength—it was filled with platforms and metal grates.   
The Holderness stood like a giant spider above the water, poking from the creasing, sloshing water which made a rhythmic stir. You could hear the constant beat of water against the massive, metal legs.   
Now the elusive wash of sounds jabbed the silence of the ocean as the Holderness remained a guardian near the face of the Amazon, standing like a very expensive signpost.   
Both the commander and his number one brought the guests into the sterile, booming office filled with working computers. TJ found they confiscated his bow while the Doctor's sonic screwdriver was taken from her.   
It was different from what it used to be on oil rigs. There was a time when people fought the harsh winds to battle the machinery to do their work. Nowadays, people sat in the comfort of the indoors in offices.   
The Doctor looked out the window to see the reign of seas plodding together like a power of nature. That arched scene looked inviting with a screaming tropical bliss.   
“You weren't kidding when you told us you found some people,” the woman environmentalist said.   
“That's right, Kelly. Found them wandering around in the lower decks like lost tourists,” Commander Murray said.   
“We weren't lost!” the Doctor protested.   
“I got a little concerned seeing a couple of strangers showing up in the middle of the hall looking at the ocean.”  
“Just lucky!” the Doctor said.   
“I don't much care for people who think they're smart,” Murray said. “I prefer people who are practical.”  
“I can be practical,” the Doctor said with a grin.   
“Do you ever shut up?”   
“Not when she's on a roll,” TJ added.   
“I have my good and bad days. I have a feeling this might be a good day,” the Doctor said.   
“That could be an omen,” TJ said.   
“It's true!”  
“Shut up!” Murray said. “I took a bow off you which is a weapon, China. And I don't even know what the hell I mooched off the woman. Some sort of screwdriver?”  
“You wouldn't understand,” the Doctor said.   
“I can't stand condescending people either,” Murray said. “Were you trying to sabotage the rig?”  
“Hardly that,” the Doctor said. “We just dropped in.”  
“It sounds vague. All of it.”  
“We were sightseeing!”  
“That's the stupidest thing I've heard,” Sasha Molan said.   
“We dropped in. Explored a little. Ran into you. It's as simple as that,” the Doctor said.   
“What about you, China?” Murray said. “You and your friend look like they stepped out of a masquerade. Care to explain?”  
“My name is TJ.”  
“Well?”   
“If you're looking for explanations, you can ask the Doctor at your own risk.”  
“And who are you?” Murray turned to the Doctor.   
“That would be a long and complicated story. I'm more interested in knowing who you are,” the Doctor said.   
“Why would we want to tell you about us?”   
“Because this is a rig that's been abandoned for a while leaving only a skeleton crew behind. Which suggests something of a crisis is going on. Something's bad happened. Not only that, you've indulged yourselves in the misguided process of fracking. I'll tell you what—terrible idea. So you got some oil rig slapped in the middle of the ocean.”  
“My gawd. You're annoying,” Murray complained.   
“I'm right, though,” the Doctor said. “Something caused the rig to be abandoned here.”  
“You seem to know an awful lot about us while claiming to know nothing,” Murray said. “There's been a series of earthquakes here.”  
“I know. Fracking. Bad.”  
“This rig has been decommissioned after the earthquakes became too regular a problem. Even then, there is still some earthquakes after the rig got shut down. So we brought in a number of seismologists, an environmentalist and a few mechanics to find out what caused the rig to stop digging.”  
“What's your job?” the Doctor said.   
“I belong to security. So does Sasha.”  
“So you're on the verge of looking for alternate fuel because, what, the world is depleting itself? So solar energy isn't enough, so you decided to start looking beneath the sea. Nice!”  
“I can't tell if you're being smart or stupid,” Murray said.   
“Looking for different fuel for the world while it makes demands for energy. The human race is finally exploring in the seas.”  
Murray looked like someone whose hair resembled a fat cat which sat on his head. It made him look more pompous carrying around as if walking through a hairpiece ad.   
“Love the hair,” the Doctor said.  
“Shut up,” Murray said.   
“I think now's the time to get to know each other,” Sasha said. “The woman over there is Kelly who is the environmentalist studying...”  
“conservation on a wide scale!” the Doctor piped.   
“It's not as nice as you think when you're working for a large corporation,” Kelly said.   
“All right, moving on. That is Hernandez who is our local mechanic who's explored the Amazon on and off. He'll be able to help us pinpoint what is causing the accidents.”  
“Accidents?” the Doctor said.   
“And that is Murray who is our chief in command. Sometimes Murray calls me his Number One, but my name is Sasha. There is also Hammond and Kwame who will be arriving here very soon.”  
“You mentioned accidents?” the Doctor said.   
“I think we told you more than enough,” Murray said. “You're still under suspicion.”  
“Perhaps I might be able to help you. I'm something of a scientist too, and we could work together to find common ground,” the Doctor said.   
“I don't even trust you,” Murray complained. “You could be saboteurs.”  
“How can that be? We were unarmed. Well, I was,” the Doctor said.  
“That is true,” Sasha said.   
“The earthquakes have erupted more often than we care to mention, and the rig is eventually abandoned. The conditions grew worse. It's unsuitable to work here,” Sasha said.   
“Fracking leads to the tremors in the ground,” the Doctor said.   
“But there's something different going on,” Murray said. “That's why some of us stayed.”  
“We're still company employed here,” Sasha said. “What about you, Doctor? We didn't expect anymore people from the company to show up.”  
“They're probably spies,” Hernandez said.   
“That is also a good point,” Sasha said.   
“Maybe they're here to steal the fuel we're looking for,” Hernandez said.   
“And the earthquakes?” the Doctor asked.   
“They've slowed down for some reason. It's odd, but the seismic motions do fluctuate.”  
“Hmmmm. Odd, indeed,” the Doctor said.   
“Are we prisoners here?” TJ said.   
“No, but your tools are confiscated, and so is the blue box until we learn more about you,” Murray said.   
“We're stuck here,” TJ said.   
“That would be the case,” the Doctor said. “We're accidental tourists, I suppose.”  
The Doctor had an idea which might help. It was a long shot, but could help everyone on board. Her eyes brightened while her face blossomed with color. She glanced at one of the scanners with a sordid plan.  
Some might see the proverbial lightbulb with an exclamation point bursting above her head. She snapped her fingers with vigor while she bit down on her lower lips.   
“Scanner, that's it!” the Doctor shouted. “That might be useful!”  
“I've tried it already,” Hernandez said. “It never tells me anything except the same story.”  
“You're not looking enough.”  
Hooking herself into the seat in front of the scanner, ignoring the protests of others, the Doctor tapped her fingers on the keyboard while rocking forward to get the scanner working in overtime.   
She slapped the computer with the bottom of her fist to get it going. It wasn't giving her the answers she was looking for. The Doctor wondered what was hiding down in the abyss.   
“We need to go deeper,” the Doctor said.   
“There's nothing down there except rocks and crevices,” Hernandez said.   
There was nothing.   
Still nothing. The monitor remained blank.   
“Try going deeper, further,” the Doctor said.   
“There is no need for this,” Murray grumbled. “What are you looking for?”  
“The ocean is the apex of knowledge waiting to be uncovered. There is far more to life in the waters than you will ever know. Something could be down there in the ocean.”  
“This is ridiculous. We would have found it by now,” Murray said.  
The Doctor attempted to dig deeper with the scanner, her hands controlling the mechanism. She resembled a video gamer as she cycled through the sea levels with a frustrated murmur. Where? Where? Where was it?  
“Nothing!” the Doctor said. “Nothing at all! I'm looking for answers that aren't there!” the Doctor said.   
“I wish you stop treating computers like that,” Hernandez said. “You're very abusive.”  
“It's junk,” the Doctor said.   
“Abusive, and insulting,” Hernandez said.   
“It's not reaching the depths far enough for scanning. I need to get to my TARDIS for that.”  
“Are you mad? I think your brains just walked away,” Murray said. “That blue box is impounded. You're under house arrest.”  
“It's no good,” the Doctor mumbled to herself. “What you're looking for is masked by some barriers.”  
“She's rambling,” Sasha said. “Could be delusional.”  
“We got the Essex Prize coming into the docks,” Hernandez said. “It looks like Kwame and Hammond are here.”  
“That's good, because I want to have a long talk with them about being late,” Murray said.   
The Doctor kept interrupting the commander. She thrived on taking center stage like an overbearing actor in a movie scene. It began to chip away at Murray's patience.   
“The accidents are caused by the drilling,” the Doctor said. “Fracking is known for creating more problems than solving them.”  
“No, it's not,” Murray grumbled. “We've checked, and rechecked. Something else is causing the earthquakes.”  
“You must be mistaken,” the Doctor said. “It could be engineers in your crew worked on old pipes to an oil reservoir which created a rupture. The flow of the gas can be dangerous.”  
“That's not what happened. There's been something in the deep caused by another phenomena.”  
“The arrogance of the human beings is taking its toll. You kill the earth. And leave behind a wake of disasters,” the Doctor said.   
“Think about it,” Murray continued. “The crew has left due to the constant earthquakes even though the fracking has been stopped more than a month ago. Something else is causing the ground to shake.”  
“The commander is right,” Sasha said. “There is something else going on. It must be.”  
There was a bleeping sound stirring from the computer system, and the Doctor turned her head to hear the loud noise. The computer chirped near where Kelly and Hernandez was sitting.   
It caught the commander's attention too as Hernandez scooted over to where the signal erupted. His fingers stabbed the buttons as he switched on the intercom.   
“It's Hammond and Kwame,” Hernandez announced. “They're at the dock.”  
“About time,” Murray complained. “I'm going to talk to them.”  
“They say something about bringing on board a guest.”

Part Two  
Chapter ten  
A tank was set up in the observatory room where the guest was dropped in. Filled with the sea water from the ocean, the newfound creature grew uncomfortable in its home.   
It was a see-through glass which allowed others to view the creature stirring around in a sweeping fit. Scissor-cutting its way around, the strange man of the waters moved like a marathon swimmer.   
On the top of the tank stood Kwame who remained on the cat-walk while holding a lance in his hands. He would prod the creature a few times if it came too close to the opening at the top.  
“You got a lot of gall shutting me out on the communications line,” Murray said to Hammond.   
“I was busy,” Hammond said. “And I did bring you back the event of the century.”  
“Don't think I'll forget your little stunt.”  
“I figured on that.”  
It shifted around in the aquarium-styled space. And the crew members took a few moments to view the missing link of the earth. Kwame used a lance often meant for mechanical work on the rig.  
Kwame continued to prod the creature with the long-reaching prod with a tiny electrode fitted at the end. It buzzed every time it came into contact with the creature.   
It became the talk of the rig. The conversation piece that resembled a mermaid-like man scuttling around inside the tank like a fish in a bowl. The Miracle Merman. The crew of the Holderness watched the creature in its limelight.   
The Doctor, TJ and Sasha stared from the background while the commander and Hammond stood closer. However, braving the sight of the creeping creature, Kelly watched while holding a clipboard in her hands. It looked at her like a suitor taking interest in a prospective date.   
“Take something you don't understand and stick it into a cage,” the Doctor said.   
“I don't need your criticisms now,” Murray barked.   
“All you humans are the same,” the Doctor said.   
“That sounds bigoted,” Murray retorted.   
“I happen to be human too,” TJ said.   
Now the Doctor lowered her head in the middle of the conversation not out of shame, but anger. Her eyes flared with a cosmic dread. She made an indignant glance to the desperate creature in the tank.   
That creature looked aware of the surroundings it was swimming in. Eyes, ears, mouth, fluctuating constantly, glancing around like a child taking in the details. It was interested in the outside. So interested.   
It flitted around with a constant stir, flapping its legs, before making full turns. Pressed the flat of its hand to the glass where Kelly stood, stretching out its needle-like talons. It seemed to delight in her strange beauty.  
“It's called an Eocene. Thought they were extinct,” the Doctor said.   
“You know what they are?” Murray said.   
“I've heard and read only stories about the Eocenes. Never thought to meet the real thing. I still get surprised by my own travels.”  
“It's amazing, isn't it?” Kelly said. “There's nothing like it.”  
“How could it survive this long for millions of years?” Kwame said while going through the process of putting live fish into the tank.  
“A civilization, perhaps? You've mentioned something about it before,” Kelly said. “Maybe they have communities in the depths.”  
“Sort of like the dolphins?” Kwame said.   
“It's possible this creature survived this long because it is living in a sort of society,” Kelly continued. “This changes everything we know with science.”  
“And now we have the living example of the impossible right here in this room,” Murray added.   
“Being held against its own will,” the Doctor said. “What's it done to you?”  
Hammond said, “It was wounded down near the crevice. I wasn't going to leave it behind.”  
“That's right,” Murray said. “We're feeding it. Helping it. Healing it. We want to understand it.”  
“For what? So you can put it under the proverbial microscope?” the Doctor scowled.  
“It's unique,” Murray said.   
“All too much, unfortunately,” the Doctor snapped.   
“I heard that the Amazon have pockets of areas remained unchanged for millions of years,” Kelly said. “Maybe this thing is the child of the Amazon?”  
“I had enough of this,” TJ said. “I'm leaving.”  
“Something wrong?” the Doctor said.   
“It's nothing. I just need to get a little air. It's getting stifling in here.”  
“I agree,” the Doctor said. “Don't wander off too far.”  
“When do I ever?”  
“Must I answer that?”  
“All right. I'll be just down the hall.”  
“I'm sorry to drag you into these boring politics,” the Doctor said. “I'll try to make this conversation short and join you.”  
“Thanks,” TJ said.   
“Keep an eye on him, will you, Sasha?” Murray said.   
“Yes, sir,” Sasha said.   
As TJ left the room filled with the tank, escaping the strangled chaffs of the discussion, he started down the hallway leading out to the platform outside. The Doctor stayed in the room while watching the Sealiathan.   
The others watched the creature slosh around in its watery domain, sweeping with athletic grace, while it concentrated on Kelly in particular. It must have found bliss in her face.

Chapter eleven  
The Eocene looked at the young girl Kelly with the sorrow in its eyes framed by the eons of loneliness. Its mouth mimicked the breathing under the surface while it stood in the blanket of water without suffocating.   
Now it flattened its hand on the glass while Kelly did the same, showing some understanding. However, putting his hand on Kelly's shoulder, Murray warned her not to get too close to the subject.   
Kelly felt a startle when she felt her commander's hand on her shoulder, and made a frightened reflex. She realized she might receive a morbid attention of the monster in the cage.   
With an abrupt stir, collecting its speed through the tank, the Eocene made another rotating circle in the cramped spaces. Murray shook his head while watching the creature dig into its eating festivities.   
From on the top, Kwame helped with pouring the flapping, live fish into the tank. It looked like it was raining fishes in the water while the Eocene followed the lolling driftwood of fishes flooding the water.   
In a savage turn, like a beast betraying its most primal urges, the Eocene grabbed one of the flapping fishes with an eager hunger. Biting down on it with a fever, the creature grew stronger in strength. It was healing faster too while it ravaged on its meal.   
“I'm going to call him Nestor,” Kelly said. “It means homecoming.”  
“That's not a bad name,” Murray said.   
“It's a Greek name. King of Pylos. Noted for his wise counsel in expedition against Troy.”  
“Could it be a civilization beneath us?” Murray said.   
“It's possible,” Kelly said.   
“It means they could have some alternate fuel,” Murray continued. “There could be a source of energy we don't know about yet.”  
“You have no idea what you've done bringing it here,” the Doctor said.   
“Take care, Doctor. I can only tolerate you being here,” Murray scowled.  
“The Eocenes is a species that even I know very little about,” the Doctor chimed. “You've taken one of them. A family member. A father. A possible servant. Maybe it is important. And you turned him into an experiment.”  
“We're on the verge of an economical collapse without fuel. This Eocene... could be our salvation.”  
“Or it could be a disaster,” the Doctor said.   
“What do you mean?” Hammond said.   
“You couldn't be content with leaving alone. You're middling with affairs you may not understand.”  
“We're trying to help it,” Hammond added.   
“Or... you could be making things worse,” the Doctor said.   
“What are you driving at? Because you're getting on my bad side,” Murray said.   
“What if these creatures might discover that one of their own has gone missing and go looking for him,” the Doctor said.  
“That's ridiculous,” Murray said.   
“Is it a stretch? Nestor? That thing in the tank is scared, lonely and wounded. And he is missed. You might be getting more visitors like him.”

Chapter twelve  
Stepping into the hallway, heading towards one of the exits leading to the platform, TJ found himself outside. He found the staggering outpost to be standing over the giant boom of water.   
TJ liked standing near the edges of the offshore rig while the wind blew over him like a comforting hand. He felt the gentle sway of air strapping around him as he held himself in place under the dying evening.   
His eyes caught sight of the spreading expanse of the water—the flatness of the blue marching outward like a bloated thing. So much water. He never saw this much water before.   
Sasha joined him along the sidelines, her stoic features framed a strong, brusque expression. And yet still feminine. A good frame, being someone who worked out on a regular basis.   
Some men might find her too masculine looking due to her powerful sidelines, but that would be foolish. She carried a graceful poetry about herself, a swan piece of Africa.   
Across the platform landing stood a metal machine. It had fins and wings like a bird would for flight, but there was a strange notion about it. Was it even alive? TJ looked at it with keen interest.   
“You have a metal bird?” TJ asked.   
“That's a helicopter for emergencies.”  
“Never seen one before,” TJ admitted.  
“You're kidding me. You should really ride in one sometime. It gives you a taste of freedom. Only the commander and I know how to pilot it.”  
“It takes you to the skies?”   
“You're a funny sort of guy. Where do you come from again?” Sasha said.   
When TJ turned to the open seas, spreading outward with a murmuring beauty, he found himself at the mercy of the water. He could see the collective cloud of birds pouring over a single spot.   
It became a strange thing. The seagulls swooped over the surface with a flocking chorus of endless squawks. The water became the constant friend to those who watched it in the evening spilling away.   
What was causing the birds to do this? Why did those seagulls seemed so nervous as they seemed to be caught in a flapping craze. Their fluttering wings sang notes as they swirled into a white storm.   
“Watch out!” Sasha cried out.   
“What is it?”  
“Whales!”

Chapter thirteen  
As the Doctor, the commander and Hammond left the premises to discuss the situation on the bridge, they left behind two of the staff to look after the creature.   
Not one person. Two people on staff. It wasn't just standard procedure, but common sense. Why would anyone want to be alone in the same room with a monster swimming around in a tank? Some people might be watching too many horror movies to leave one person alone.   
This was a controlled environment with Kelly studying Nestor while holding a computer notebook in the cradle of her hands. Her face offered a genuine stillness while her thoughts churned like a revolving door.   
Her blond hair looked like a nest of domestic bliss. How she looked might make a man grin stupid and bust out in boyish giggles. It was true Kelly was a superwoman.   
Tapping against the computer screen, in a sure beat, her fingers held the pen while watching Nestor slosh around in the water with clipping motions. She kept tapping the pen on the computer.   
“Do you mind?” Kwame said.   
“What?” Kelly said.   
“You're tapping the pen again. You do that every time you're focused on something.”  
“I do not,” she said with defiance.   
“Yeah, you do. Ask anyone. It's a bad habit.”  
“I think you're making it up.”  
“It's true.”  
“I think the creature is amazing,” Kelly said.   
“You're changing the subject. “  
“It's like stepping into the past to see this in action. It's no longer a fantasy. It's real. And here is living proof of it.”  
“Just be careful with him,” Kwame said.  
“You don't need to be worried about me. I'll fend for myself. My mother brought me up right.”  
“What I see in the tank filled with water is a billion dollars. Something that is going to make up a lot of money,” Kwame said.   
“Is that all you see him as? A commercial product? How disappointing.”  
“It won't be so bad once I retire to Brazil. And the rest will be easy sailing from here,” Kwame said.   
“Don't you see the good side of this exotic creature?” Kelly said. “It's not savage. There's a hidden beauty.”  
“Something tells me you got a crush on him. Be careful. He might bite,” Kwame warned.   
“Nestor could give us a lot of answers,” Kelly continued. “Maybe put an end to the fuel crisis. Maybe find out how he survives. So much we could learn from him.”  
“You want this thing to be some kind of teacher? You're crazy. And you're giving him a name.”  
“Jealous?” Kelly piped.   
When Kelly put her hand to the glass, the creature on the other side did the same. Its outstretched hand provided extra webbing between his fingers for making easy swimming. Nestor became a walking contradiction when it came to more evolved species.   
However, Kelly could see something in his eyes. Maybe it was recognition in there. Maybe it was the first lesson in finding the common ground between them. Kelly was so sure of it. She knew it   
It was a shame to be separated by the sheet of glass between them. Kelly wouldn't mind working with this creature first-hand. She's worked with children in Uganda and also in South Korea. Experience proved to be a powerful tool for those learning.   
Kelly felt Nestor in the tank shouldn't be made to remain in the water tanks. She noticed it didn't seem savage at all, more docile, maybe lost in this human world. Kelly thought she might be his only guide.   
At the very least, he was a misunderstood soul.   
Kelly felt the dryness on her lips while watching the creature swirl around like an impatient guest in a waiting line. On the very top, Kwame continued to dump the fish into the wet chamber.   
After a while, with a prodding nudge, Kwame poked the creature again with the lance. He tried to get its attention while the fish moved around. In a sudden, snapping movement, Nestor grabbed the lance.   
And it pulled Kwame into the chamber with a splash. Kelly felt shock climbing into her as she watched the monster wrestle Kwame to the bottom of the cage like a savage. 

Chapter fourteen  
“No! Don't do that!” Kelly shouted to Nestor. “You're better than that!”  
She slammed her fist on the glass, feeling the abrasive hurt in her hand. The monster twisted and tore as Kwame fought back in a frantic struggle. Kwame stumbled like a baby in the monster's fierce grasp.   
Not having air, Kwame began to lose his breath while the monster tightened its hold around his neck. It became a frightening thing as Kwame went limp in the confined space.   
“Stop it! Don't kill him!” Kelly shouted.   
Her fist kept hitting the window without cracking it, and she could not pry the monster from its fury. She watched as the two twist into a dance of watery death until Kwame fell like a limp sack.  
Now it became a knot of hate as it made a final tug on Kwame before he floated in the water. Kelly felt ashamed at hearing the small voice in the back of her head telling her to run.  
She pressed the button on her wrist intercom while hailing the commander, her frantic fingers punching the volume control. Something choked inside her chest like fear.   
“Commander! You hear me?” Kelly said.   
“What is it? What's wrong?” Murray said through the intercom.   
“Kwame is dead. The creature is out of control. He's going to...”  
As the creature turned, it looked through the glass at Kelly like a ready prize to be taken. The Eocenes propelled itself into the glass like a wrecking ball while the tank shook.  
The window view shattered with a web of broken lines cascading throughout the surface. Another few hits would render the glass useless as the monster worked itself like a wrecking ball. 

Chapter fifteen  
What was that? TJ tightened his eyes while watching the movement of birds flowing from one side to another as something stuck out from the waters. At first, he thought it was a moving rock making ripples.   
There! TJ saw it again when the moving rock tore like a tearing claw through the bubbling waters. Now there grew five more rocks which cut through the watery haven like a gentle wind while the seagulls wrapped around the intruders like a circle, chirping and crying.   
One of the mounds burst into a geyser which spewed water into a spectacular scene. It was almost like rain. TJ watched as the mound grew bigger while easing into view. Sasha lowered her head while the seagulls battered the air with flashes of the maddening rush. They hooked themselves into the heights while the booming rock pushed forward like a shifting island.   
“It's a humpback whale!” Sasha announced. “You don't see them often!”  
“I can see why the Doctor likes the seas very much,” TJ said. “There are hidden secrets.”  
“Tell me about it.”  
“I thought I just did.”  
“Never mind. It was a joke,” Sasha said. “So what is bothering you?”   
“I couldn't be in that room,” TJ said.   
“It's not a bad place here once you get used to it,” Sasha said. “You might even call it home after a while.”  
“I don't mean that. The creature in the tank is a captive. That bothers me.”  
“You share the same sentiment as the Doctor.”   
“More than that,” I was a prisoner of war for a time,” TJ said. “I was taken by the enemy and put in a cage. They tried to starve me.”  
“What war is this?”  
“It was the Battle of Tongguan. Ming is suppressing the rebellion led by a good leader Li Zicheng.”  
“Ming? That puts it in the 1600s. You have to be ridiculous if you're telling me you come from almost a thousand years ago.”  
“When I was a captive, I felt worthless. That I could no longer have anything to live for apart for my brother and family. It makes me think the creature in the tank must feel the same way.”  
“He's in good hands,” Sasha defended. “We're taking good care of him.”  
“I believed in a god when I was in the cage. And I was starving,” TJ said. “I lost all hope...”  
“What happened?”  
“The Doctor rescued me from capture, and gave me a new lease of life. She saved me from the hounds of hell. I owe her my life.”  
“She seems the type to go around saving people,” Sasha said.   
“Seeing that creature locked up in a cage made me think of my own past. A flood of memories filled my head. That's why I needed to leave the room.”  
Sasha stepped alongside the edge of the offshore oil rig, her face catching the softness of the breeze. Everything was so much more open out here. She liked it that way. Not the same as the cramped rooms inside.   
Seeing the miles of ocean was like seeing an opening to freedom. There was the open world to the water. How could one not respect the human nature of the vast ocean? It collected around you like a blue dream.   
“So where do you really come from?” Sasha said. “Don't worry. I won't bite.”  
“I told you. Earth. China,” TJ said.   
“And the Doctor?”  
“I don't know.”  
“Don't you know anything about her?”  
“She likes to be mysterious. There isn't much I know about her apart from what she's shown me about the universe. She's opened up new doors for me.”  
“Don't you find that offputting?”   
“Sometimes. She likes to keep to herself,” TJ continued. “She doesn't talk much about herself. Nothing is known about her past apart from her travels. She's like an intergalactic tourist.”  
“Don't you think she might be dangerous?”   
“I don't know,” TJ said. “Why don't you ask her?”  
“Hasn't that question ever popped in your head?” Sasha said.   
“No.”   
“That's probably what makes the Doctor dangerous.”  
Sasha heard the intercom on her wrist beep with a chime, causing her to cut the conversation short. TJ simply looked around for the rowing humpback who seemed to be a long way from here.   
Several humpbacks shifted into the deeper part of the ocean soon to seep into the comfort of the depths. The echoes of the summer waters shuffled around the swimming beast. It was almost like a warning.   
TJ thought about how the world was not going to last forever, and it would be engulfed by the flames. None of this would matter anymore when the earth would die out like a sad memory. All of this beauty would perish.  
“That was the commander on the intercom,” Sasha said. “He tells us our esteemed guest has broken out of the tank.”  
“I don't think any cage could hold it,” TJ said. “It will find another cage that is the water.”  
“We need to get back inside. Might be a way to cut it off.”  
Nodding, TJ joined Sasha while returning to the narrow, confined corridors and cramped rooms. He turned once more to see the cloud of seagulls following the whale like groupies, hovering over the departing sea beast. How these birds were nothing like the helicopter fixed like a silent thing on the pad.   
Their footsteps hit the metal grates before reaching the main building with the swell of offices. TJ wished he had his bow and arrow with him, but he'll have to make do. He felt the aching waters seemed to mock him.   
No one noticed something else climbed out of the waters, a shadow growing more pronounced. A webbed hand broke through the surface as if reaching for the night. 

Chapter sixteen  
It exploded with a clashing sound as Kelly shuffled back from the debris of broken glass. She could see the watchful eyes of the creature soften as she shouted. The floor became a sloshing spill of water.   
“Oh, no,” Kelly said.   
Her hand grabbed one of the glass shards off the floor in a sweep, fingers clutching carefully around the edges. Now Nestor lumbered with beastly glee towards her like a lover scraping his feet over dangerous grounds to win over her.   
Its webbed footsteps clamped over the wet floor without hurting, and Kelly moved away until her back hugged the furthest wall. Its raging eyes shifted as the steady glare evaluated her delicate frame.   
Once it moved near her, like a woeful suitor looking for attention, Kelly slashed at it with the sheet of glass. She caught the side of its face as the edges dug into its tough skin.   
It made a howling sound while she cut his left eye. Nestor was now a one-eyed beast from the ocean.   
“Get away from me!” Kelly shouted. “You're horrible! You killed him!”  
She could still see the unmoving Kwame laying on the floor which burned into her memory like a slicing icicle of sickness. Kelly felt the sucker-punch of reality of horror pegging her stomach. So helpless, she was.   
Forcing herself to swing again, Kelly tried to cut the approaching creature, but its thuggish hand knocked the sharp piece form her grip with ease. She looked at the hulking, powerful form of the beast.   
Throwing her fists into the creature's chest, and pounding, the Eocene seemed to grow more interested in her. She felt the water greased skin chipping against her with an odd sensation.  
It was like touching the sharp edges of a rock.   
With great strength, Nestor lifted her up into his arms like cradling a bouquet of flowers. That tough skin pressing into her while she could no longer fight him off in a hectic frenzy.  
Its hands fixed around Kelly with a gentle sway while carrying her outside of of the observation room like a newlywed carrying his wife to his honeymoon. Except this was a nightmare honeymoon.  
“Why did you kill him?” Kelly muttered. “Why? Why?”  
Kelly felt a sagging sickness overcoming her as her mind slipped. She felt a knot of fatigue holding her, making her recede into a nice place she wanted to visit in her thoughts. It was the only safe place.   
Becoming limp in the monster's hand, she looked more like a sleeping beauty as the sluggish creature continued its murky descent down the hall. His left eye looked scarred from the recent cut with torn skin. Bleeding some.  
Now he brought his champion in the cusp of his arms, bringing her closer to the window view while his features became more satisfied. Where would it go now? It made a silent stroll through the flickering lights. 

Chapter seventeen  
The creature from the depths staggered through the intersection over the smooth rink-like floors. Its collecting form stood before the viewing screen with the ocean view. It looked like it was staring into the soul of the seas.   
With a noble touch, the creature brushed its long talons over Kelly's hair as the wisps of sunshine mane hanged over the side of her face. Her smooth features calmed him like a good dream.   
“You... shouldn't have killed him,” Kelly said.   
With a growing sorrow, like a child looking for his mother, Nestor stood in front of the window where the giant vistas of the ocean barked with movements. Neither it ran or walked, only watched with interest.   
Now the Eocene looked like it wanted to be with the water. That wizardly streak of blue harboring the deep called out to him. And the creature began to sing a song filled with sad notes.   
Its voice clattered with the message to the seas with the sweetness of hurt. Somehow, with a heartache of grief, it was singing to something in the deep pocket of the water world.   
It seemed to be talking to the sea.   
No, not talking. Not talking at all. Crying. It was crying with the high composition of anguish which felled the creature's heavy heart. It looked out through the window while the fish swam with freedom in the ocean.   
Something caught in its throat while it tried to convey the moments of distress it felt. Now it watched the heavens of the blue turning back to him with a withered fate. It became a religion of music.   
Nestor continued to hold Kelly in his arms while it cried blood from its left eye. It held her close to his chest while the softness of its voice touched the depths below. 

Chapter eighteen  
In the office rooms where the walls seemed to close in, the commander was interrupted with the message he received from Kelly. It became urgent as he listened.   
Now he listened to the news of Kwame's death with regret while hearing Kelly's words under the clashing glass. That thing was getting out. Murray knew what to do.   
He heard her last words “The creature is out of control. He's going to...” And that was it. Murray felt an inkling of horror as he listened to the glass breaking followed by the static sound of the intercom going out.   
“We need to get down there and help her. NOW!” Benedict Murray said to the others in the room.   
That volcanic eruption of anger crawled over his thoughts again as his features snapped with a reflex. He was going to get everything back in control while tracking this monster down.   
“That thing is a frightened creature,” the Doctor said. “And you're hunting it like a gleeful mob. Why don't you reason with it?”  
“You're not in charge of this unit,” Murray said.  
“Maybe not, but I bet I could do a better job,” the Doctor retorted.   
“This isn't a competition! Stop impugning on my judgment!”  
“You're doing this all wrong. That Eocene is intelligent. Not some doe in the forest you're going to chase in a forest. It's a living, thinking, animal.”  
“For the last time...”  
“Think about what you're doing!” the Doctor shouted.   
“I should never have left Kwame and Kelly back there,” Murray said.   
“It's not your fault,” Hammond said. “No one knew what was going to happen.”  
“The Eocene more intelligent than you're giving it credit,” the Doctor said.   
“That thing just killed Kwame, and could kill more. It's got Kelly right now. That thing wandering around in the halls is a goddamn savage!”   
“You're a little quick to make snap judgments! That Eocene feels caught, trapped and cornered. How would you feel if you were in a cage?”   
“The Doctor does have a point,” Hammond said.   
“You're not helping,” Murray said to his friend.  
“It could have killed Kwame in self-defense,” Hammond replied.   
Returning to the holding storage unit, flipping the doors open to reveal the security weapons, Murray reached for one before holding it in his hands. He gripped a blaster as he was ready to toss it to Hammond.   
Hammond looked it and shook his head. The old man felt the harsh clash between himself and the commander who was going to suit him up with a gun from the covert cabinet.   
“You'll need it,” Murray said.   
“No thanks,” Hammond said. “I'm not keen on it.”  
“I'm ordering you. Please don't disobey me like you did in the Essex Prize.”  
Ignoring the old man's complaints, he forced the gun into Hammond's grip while starting down the hallway with one goal in mind. If Murray could have a toothpick to chew on, it would complete his toughness.   
The Doctor began to follow Murray down the corridor, leaving behind Hammond who still shrugged off the gun while putting it down.   
“The dolphins and the whales have superior intellect,” the Doctor said. “And I don't see you treating them like a prisoner.”  
“That's different. This Eocene is an unknown element,” Murray said. “It's a stranger to our world. It is violent and aggressive. And I can't let it go wandering about.”  
“Wouldn't you rather talk to it and find out what it needs? Find out what it wants?”  
“Fat chance in hell.”  
“Maybe you should build bridges instead of walls.”  
“Stop putting words in my mouth! That thing is a monster,” Murray said. “I knew it the first time I've laid eyes on it.”  
“Then let me talk to it,” the Doctor said.   
“I'm not going to do that!” Murray said. “I don't even trust you. I should have locked you up with that monster.”  
“And you're nothing but a closed-minded idiot who will cut corners to save his own job,” the Doctor growled. “Shoot first and take credit.”  
“Stop telling me how to run this place,” Murray said while walking through the corridor. “I'm in command. I take responsibility.”  
“You mean you're going to kill it.”  
“I'm going to protect my crew best as I can. I'm never letting my guard down again!”

Chapter nineteen  
The brooding knot of hallways coughed with another silence. It stretched into a diverting fork which broke into other routes. The halls grew very cold here under the twitching lights.   
Sasha carried her gun in her hand, fingers tight around the trigger. Her skin gleamed with a thunderous chocolate bliss. Her face may show signs of wrinkles threatening to form around her mouth or eyes, but there still grew a warrior's grace about her.   
“Why is it you have a gun while the others do not?” TJ said.   
“I'm a security guard working at the Holderness oil rig. Murray is the head of security. It's Hammond who is the head of the science section.”  
“Are you well-versed in the art of fighting?” TJ asked.   
“You could say that. Brown belt. Still working on it.”  
“I am a fighter too,” TJ said. “Will you give me a gun?”  
“No. You're not exactly here on trust because I have to keep my eyes on you,” Sasha said. “But...”  
Her hand dived into one of the hanging pads around her belt, pulling at the cover to open. She extracted what looked like a hand-held device before giving it to TJ. He glanced quizzically at it.   
“That'll be good enough to get by,” Sasha said.   
“What is it?” TJ said.   
“It's mace. You just point, click and spray.”  
“Huh?”  
“Make sure you don't point it to your face,” Sasha added.   
“I don't want that. I don't see how it helps,” TJ said.   
In a crackling hallway, poised with quivering lights. Sasha caught sight of something approaching them. She could see the monster moving in a slow gait while it fought to see through the burning cut on its left eye.   
His feet dragged across the polished floor while the flaps of his skin breathed like a punctured balloon. It was Nestor. In the cradle of his hands, never slipping her, was the young woman Kelly.   
That nightmarish merman shuffled forward while making a groan. Shifting her gun to aim, Sasha grew fierce with a sweeping pose while standing her ground. She could never forget the look on the creature's face—sadness.   
“Wait. Don't shoot it,” TJ said. “Just let it go.”  
“What? I got a gun packed with enough wallop to knock down a football team. And you're asking me not to shoot?” Sasha said.   
“Don't make any moves. Trust me with this.”  
With a scurrying motion, showing a slight revulsion to the lights, the Eocene moved through the hallway with his prize. Kelly seemed to tighten her hold on him like a safe knot.   
TJ thought he could hear Kelly saying, “Don't hurt me.” Though it was difficult to hear under the constant wash of the crescent waves outside. He strained to listen while the Eocene walked away without incident.   
“Why did you stop me from shooting it?” Sasha said.   
“A hunter knows when to shoot, and when NOT to shoot,” TJ said. “That is the stealth of a hunter. I did not sense the creature would harm us.”  
“Couldn't fooled me.”  
“I think it's lonely,” TJ said.  
“Aren't we all?” Sasha said. “I'm keeping tabs on him.”  
“Don't get near him.”  
“You seem to know an awful lot about this thing.”  
“Not at all. I'm going by instinct. So should you.”

Chapter twenty  
Throughout the hallway, walking from one intersection to the next, the Doctor and Murray continued their verbal match. It was like watching two people playing a game of chess with words.   
With Murray and his stupid hair, looking like a floozy cloud of orange, he seemed a bit more unhinged—he was like someone who stuffed his mad face full of Cheetos delights.   
Behind them, carrying the readings on a small contraption, was Hernandez doing his part in the name of science. It picked up heat signals. Plus he seemed a little frightened out of his wits walking in the halls.  
Murray moved down the corridor while the others followed him on foot. They continued to use a smaller version of the scanner to trace the Eocene moving around like an intruder in the oil rig.   
“We have his location,” Murray said.   
“Your approach needs a delicate touch,” the Doctor said.   
“How many times might I remind you that it's got Kelly now? I'll do everything to get her back.”  
“So your goal is to shoot in in sight. I don't trust guns. Never liked them.”  
“That's your problem,” Murray said.  
“You're dealing with an intelligent being with a higher reasoning. Not some savage thing. It hasn't killed Kelly which suggests it has a moral conflict.”  
“I have to agree this Eocene is a species we do not understand,” Hammond said.   
“I have another idea,” the Doctor chimed. “It's a brilliant idea.”  
“Don't want to hear it,” Murray scowled.   
The Doctor spoke in a condescending voice, “Why don't you let me talk to this creature. It's your best bet in clearing up this mess. This is your only chance. I've had dealings with creatures like this before. I have the means to negotiate. You do not.”  
“What do you mean you've dealt with them before?” Hernandez said.   
“I worked with UNIT for several years, and there were some creatures in the caves. They were called Silurians,” the Doctor explained. “There were others called Sea Devils from the waters.”  
“I've never heard of this,” Hammond admitted.   
“You wouldn't because the incidents were covered up by the government. That makes me an expert on these things. And that makes you the back seat driver.”   
“I'm not letting you take command of this mission,” Murray said. “This is under MY watch.”  
“It's not about taking command, you idiot. It's about doing the right thing,” the Doctor said.   
In a frantic, angry stir, Murray stepped into the next hallway with the gun cradled in his hands. His thoughts turned to Kelly and Kwame which caught the sadness in his head. It made him go sour with indignant chagrin. 

Chapter twenty-one  
Murray could see Hernandez shifting closer, his footsteps moving alongside the commander. His eyes swerving back and forth, Hernandez made sure he was not in earshot distance.   
“I know you're concerned about Kelly now,” Hernandez said.   
“I'm sure you're doing the best you can,” Murray said.   
“I know, commander. It's got me thinking. It's got me digging through some things about the Doctor on the computer,” Hernandez said.   
“You find anything?”  
“There's enough to make your head spin once you sift through a lot of old history, but the name of the Doctor always crops up in the most important events.”  
“Is that even possible?”  
“It is with her. Some of the things she says do check out such as the public records with UNIT. There's something which always go hand-in-hand with her,” said Hernandez. “The Doctor is always in the the center of it. Destruction. Disaster Doom. She's the harbinger of death. And the worst of it?”   
“What's that?” Murray said.   
“She brings death with her.”  
“That doesn't help us much,” Murray said.   
“No, it doesn't.”  
“It seems everyone's lives is at the hands of someone who is a complete stranger,” Murray said. “I don't like admitting this. That woman is like fire. She is like the sun that never goes out. And we're supposed to hand our lives over to someone who is mad?”  
“I've never said that,” Murray said. “Is any of this conversation legal?”  
“No.”  
“I suggest we split up in the halls,” Murray said in a louder voice. “So we can cover more ground. We need to find Kelly right now.”  
“Is that a good idea pulling a Scooby Doo thing?” Hernandez said.   
“I don't want that hell-bound monster walking around these parts. There's four of us. We can split up with me going with the Doctor,” Murray said. 

Chapter twenty-two  
The Doctor grew impatient while the brewing silence tacked on to the oil rig corridors which resembled huge planking of metal. Something whistled in the distance like a sadness.   
One could still hear the rushing waves of the ocean singing outside like a burden of orchestrated notes. How could such a beast of nature croon with a melody pegged the soul. It grew delicate like a lullaby.   
The skies grew darker while the mood swung into a furtive, desolate sorrow dripping into the air. Some of the oil rig crew in the hall could hear singing now. What was it? Where was it coming from?   
In a restless burst, the Doctor tapped the walls with her fingers while she was getting an idea of what it was. The soft sounds of the bleak music, coming from the vocals of something alien, lifted into the corridors like an impromptu opera.   
“What is it?” Hammond said. “I can hear it too.”  
“That sounds like the Eocene calling out to the seas,” the Doctor said. “Which could be a problem.”  
“This is ridiculous,” Murray barked. “There is nothing coming. We're going to catch that creature.”  
“What is it going to be? You're going to run around all over the oil rig looking for this creature or you're going to get it together?” the Doctor said. “You're going to give me authority to speak to this creature.”  
“Do you know what that music is?” Murray said. “Are you in league with these Eocenes.”  
“Yes. And no.”  
A sudden whoosh of noise took hold of the Holderness oil rig as a loud blast swept across the corridors with a booming ache. It sounded like something big.   
It sounded like footsteps swelling, roaring movements pouring into a hurricane of crowds clambering over the oil rig, a clanging discord filling the halls head. Something was coming here.   
And the outside rippled with what sounded like a hundred things moving onto the rig with a thundering greeting, blasting into a foul obsession of noise. So many more of them stepping into view outside in the night. They continued to fill the area in a drumming fanfare  
However, the Doctor and the crew remained in the halls. The crowd of footsteps rumbled closer through the building like a giant fists hammering into the oil rig.   
“ It's not another earthquake?” Hammond said. “What is it?   
“I don't know,” the Doctor said. “Sounds too concentrated.”  
“Could be anything.   
“I haven't the faintest idea what is going on outside, but I suggest we find out.”  
Rushing to the windows, the crew gathered around for the view from the long corridors. Several Eocene were bursting from the seas below to climbed into a deliberate boom of crowds pegging the night.   
Through the window, seeing the events unfold before them in the water, the Doctor and crew watched as a several Eocenes broke through the delicate surface of the ocean to reach the oil rig. 

Chapter twenty-three  
This intruding Eocenes continued their rushing, bellowing presence like firecrackers going on at once. Their forms shifted over the metal platform while their footsteps splattered on the floor. A festival of noise.   
It became a visual sight of endless Eocenes taking over the Holderness oil rig. In terms of size and invention, the Eocenes became a very unique species. There were even some females.   
Murray could not help think there must be some sort of fuel they were using to keep such technology working. It could be useful for the human race on the verge of existence.   
“Are those more Eocenes?” Hammond said. “That's impossible. How many of them are there?'  
“Those are the Eocene people following the call, hearing the singing,” the Doctor said. “From the depths.”  
“What does it mean?” Murray said.   
“Isn't it obvious? We're about to get more visitors.”  
Murray turned to his colleague Hernandez as he remained steady in his command.   
“Stay behind and keep a look-out,” Murray said. “I don't know how things are going to go down.”  
“Yes, sir,” Hernandez said.   
“And don't get caught.”  
Several creatures stepped across the night-specked oil rig as they formed in line across the metal planking. They looked like reptilian moving in military might.   
So many more of them! There grew a fleet of creatures moving like a wall of strength throughout the Holderness oil rig. It became the poetry of war as they moved across the metal grates of the rig.   
The moonlight falling on their faces dripped over their features—their shoulders were like towering cliffs. The stuff of strength. They were a new wave of the future. They resembled fish men shifting across the docks.   
“Come on,” the Doctor said. “I think we have to go outside to greet them.”

Part Three  
Chapter twenty-four  
Now the Doctor led the crew into the outside areas where the plight of winds snapped around them like a cough. Those creatures stood at the posts like statues waiting to come to life.  
Producing a flare with his hands, Murray switched on one of the lights on the metal desk. The astonishing redness of the light played on the Eocenes as they stood along the edges of night. The light was bright enough.  
Their lizard-like skin looked like it longed to crocodiles—could it be they were close cousins to the great residents who lived in parts of the south such as Mexico or the Amazon?   
That plight of Eocenes grew into an overwhelming crowd. Such reserved calmness stirred from the concluding forms who moved like hammers as their footsteps trampled the metal floors. They spoke in broken words.   
It was an old language.   
They were a vexing sight.   
Now the creature wearing the red sash looked like a someone who gave orders. It spared a glace at the Doctor and the others, his cutting mouth twisted with more words. They moved with a grace of lizards.   
Slow.  
Cautious.   
Now his narrow stare flattened into an expression of interest. The one with the red sash began to move towards the oil rig crew while holding a world of thoughts in his head.   
“We need to take arms,” Murray said.   
“You've already lost,” the Doctor said. “Now is our chance to talk to them.”  
“Now's the time not to get snarky about this,” Murray said. “I'm getting tired of your dismissals of us.”  
“You're pretty stupid for a human,” the Doctor said.   
“Who the hell do you think you are?”  
“Shut up!”  
Now, joining the others with a sordid effort, the wounded creature made grunts and disjointed speech with the others. Murray recognized him as the one being in the tank, but the Doctor lifted her finger for silence.   
There was something odd about Nestor who staggered and tore between his people with complaints. Murray caught sight of the Eocene having a deep cut across his left eye.   
“Who did that?” Murray said.   
“Probably one of your lot,” the Doctor said. “  
Much of the conversation didn't make sense to the oil rig crew, though the Doctor craned her neck to fetch pockets of small talk. She could only guess what it was judging from their movements.   
“You will come,” the Eocene with the sash said.   
“Thank you,” the Doctor said.   
“My name is Okkin. This is Nestor as you referred to him as. He is the one you found which makes us stand at the gravest crossroads.”  
“What do you want?” the Doctor said.   
“The old man. He is part of the crew who took our citizen on board. That is an act of war by taking him prisoner. The one called Murray is also responsible for these actions.”  
“I assure you that is done on ignorance,” the Doctor pointed out.   
“That will be taken into account,” Okkin said. “Yet we cannot condone these actions. You will come to the city where my king presides with our people. He is my king. He is our king. He will be your king.”  
“What if we don't want to come?” Murray said.   
“That will be a most unfortunate thing,” Okkin said.   
“Why is it you can speak our language while Nestor doesn't?” the Doctor said.   
“Very astute of you. Nestor is a lowly species. Only royal personal or the king are able to speak another language.”  
“I extend my hand in peace with hopes of resolving this situation,” the Doctor said.   
“I can see why Nestor spoke very highly of you,” Okkin said. “You have the voice of the calm.”  
“Then tell us what he must do to avoid further hostility.”  
“You must also come with us,” Okkin said.   
“Why haven't you come to us before?”  
“We... do not like the light,” Okkin said. “Our eyes grow sensitive from living in the ocean depths.”  
The Eocenes were nothing like humans. More reptilian. Their faces clogged with rippled skin which belonged to lizards, and their mouths made a constant bleating which made them look like frogs.   
What were these creatures? Where did they come from? The Doctor called them Eocenes which seemed to be the designated name for them, and they were like sea demons stepping out from the night.   
The commander named Okkin looked like someone who measured in power—that inescapable desire to defeat others in battle could be read in his stealing features. He held himself in high esteem. 

Chapter twenty-five  
When the Eocene carried Kelly across the platform with a fever of care, he looked like a sad, troubled figure. Perhaps one was tempted by the young woman's beauty. Nestor seemed a captive of her splendid grace.   
However, as the Doctor watched, Kelly seemed frightened. Her mind receded to another place where she would find solace. For a moment, when the creature paused, Nestor studied her with a lovestruck glee.   
There was a cut through his left eye which he wore with a badge of honor. It could be the savage side of him persuaded to keep his old wounds for show. Some people winced at it while the Doctor watched with sadness.   
Somehow Kelly dug through the depths of her mind to find safety. There seemed nothing else to her broken mind. There grew little color to her cheeks while her eyes grew empty.  
“What do you want to do with that human with you?” Okkin said to the wounded creature.   
Now Nestor glanced at her with his heart seeping with hurt. How her features grew soft like a wreath of beauty while her blond hair shuffled around her features like hanging threads.   
Okkin seemed to take offense at seeing Nestor carrying the young woman around in his arms. What could this woman look like in their old eyes? These humans were a mistake of evolution.   
“Surely, you don't think you could be compatible with her?” Okkin said. “It would be foolish of you to think so.”  
“We will NOT come to the city if you bring her along!” the Doctor said. “You need to leave her alone.”  
“Why?” Okkin said.   
“I don't think she can risk a visit to the city without her mind regressing anymore,” the Doctor said. “If you care for her, you need to leave her here.”  
Nestor looked at the Doctor with a deepest care, his thoughts wrestling with themselves, and he glanced at Kelly in his arms with the softness of a lost lover.   
“You leave her here, and we will come to the city,” the Doctor said. “You have my word.”  
Nodding with an understanding, Nestor lowered Kelly down next to the office building. He propped her up so she was in a sitting position, but her eyes grew lost to a tired shock.   
The wounded creature shook his head in sadness while he turned to the others for further advise. Okkin treated him like he was the village idiot in his underworld world.   
“What will you have us do?” the Doctor said.  
“Put on your suits, and we will do the rest,” Okkin announced. “We will guide you through the deep into the Netosk Waters near the Stimarst Expanse. Somewhat closer to the Iafyuyine Plasosse plain than the Meleagris Patas fissure.”  
The Doctor and others went through the process of putting on their diving suits while Murray grabbed the helmets to distribute for himself, Hammond and the Doctor. There were also oxygen tanks which were all full.   
They began to jump into the waters below. The Eocene shuffled alongside with them to the edge before taking that extra plunge into the depths. It would be a journey to the savage world of old.   
They swam further like needles in the watery bliss. Further down, digging deeper, they ignored the great hunger in the ocean. The Doctor grew impressed with the tracks made by the swimming creatures.   
Some of the Eocene still on the oil rig pushed the TARDIS into the water as they began their trekking descent into the bottoms of the ocean. They were keeping the blue box as some sort of keepsake. 

Chapter twenty-six  
Hammond grew alarmed at the sight of the Eocene as he never saw anything like them before in his long life. So much he was at a loss for words on the oil rig.   
And he was about to retire next week and maybe go to Brazil for his last days.   
Now the idea of being taken to the city in the Netosk Waters below made him nervous. Was he going to spend the rest of his life there against his will? Did they even have his favorite scotch or brandy old fashions there? Did they even have a dentist to help fix his toothache?  
Somehow he doubted it. These monsters looked like executioners. They were monsters of living horror.   
“You represent the human race,” Okkin said to the current crew of Murray, Hammond and the Doctor. “You must come with us.”  
“Why are we going?” Murray said through the helmet com.   
“You must face our king. He makes the deciding choice. He is your fate and master.”  
“How are we going to survive down there?” Murray said. “We don't breath water like you do.”  
“I've prepared air-breathers to go to the city,” Okkin said. “You will come.”  
“We accept your kindness,” the Doctor said.   
“You don't speak on our behalf,” Murray said.   
“It's too late for that now.”  
The Eocene named Okkin glanced over the outstretched waters which seemed to wait for him below. Murray could see the water calling out to him, but didn't like it.   
Somehow he felt the breeze of the ocean soothing him like a killer's fingers, pulling, tugging at him. That hulking membrane of water lifted with a constant stir of something alive. It felt like he was going to swim his last mile. 

Chapter twenty-seven  
The captives found themselves on board the Exxon Prize ship descending for the depths of the ocean, stalking through the lit waters where the moonlight could still reach.   
Now that brow of darkness clustered further into a blight.   
The Exxon Prize continued to make its thread of travel between rock gouges and bedlam of mountains diving deeper into the bottoms. It was the ocean growing bigger.   
The Doctor and crew wore helmets as promised while being taken to the waters below like an abyss of seeping blackness. It felt like the pressures of folding hands tightened over the graveyard burden of the ocean.   
It became a lunatic chorus of darkness which flitted around like nightmares. The ocean grew never-ending while the shifting waters dropped further into the void, digging further. Into the deep.   
“I believe we have passed the point equal to that of Mount Everest,” Hammond said.   
“No one has been down this far below,” Murray added.   
“We've gone past the point where whales dare to go,” Piece added. “This is going to be new territory for us.”  
“Unbelievable, and fascinating. Their technology must be very advanced. By at least, oh, a few thousand years,” the Doctor said.   
“We're at the breaking point of discovery,” Hammond said. “We're going deeper than anyone has before.”  
“Jacques Clouseau must be proud,” Murray said.   
“Good man, Jacques,” the Doctor piped. “Helluva swimmer.”  
Now the giant abyss sank like an ominous, rolling bank of nothingness, pulling them further and deeper while the Doctor watched the drama lead into the Netosk Waters near the Stimarst Expanse.  
They were approaching the giant city called the Narris Keep below, a center of civilization. It resembled endless castles clustered together with bridges and high arches. It became a wilderness of technology.   
Somehow the sight was maddening to the humans who tried to take in the scene. The Doctor and the others could see the Narris Keep sat under the protective dome, shielding it from any intrusive dangers of the ocean.   
Or from above the ocean too.   
Now the city lit up like a blossom of lights. The Doctor watched with interest as the Eocene moved towards the Narris Keep like masters of the world. They truly were. This city was at the height of its progress.  
One could see skyscrapers cutting great heights while bridges interlocking each other into a cradle of civilization. This place was a triumph—it was a seer of technology hidden under a dome.   
Except Murray saw something else as his eyes caught sight of the city. He could see power. He could see fuel running through this place like an amazing feat. Were the Eocene really savages?   
“What is it, Doctor?” Hammond said.   
“They really do remind me of another race who populate the seas. I'm wondering if this race is a branch of evolution splitting off from the Sea Devils. Are they distant cousins? It's possible. I wonder if they come from the same period.”  
“Save the scientific analysis for another time,” Murray said. “We need to get out of here soon.”  
“It's a wonder of science,” the Doctor said.   
“They're probably meaning to kill us.”  
“Why don't you see it from their perspective?” the Doctor said. “They probably see us as savages. You have to learn how to be diplomatic. This is a time when you have to find the right words.”  
“We need to bring together a plan and leave,” Murray said. “I'm not staying one minute in that city than I need to.”  
“Just think how many other races have survived like this?” the Doctor beamed. “The Silurians. The Sea Devils. Now this. How many more? What beautiful secrets does the ocean hold?”  
“I don't want to be here. This ocean is going to be the death of us,” Murray said. “What about you, Hammond?”  
“I think there's a treasure trove here,” Hammond said.   
“I want to talk to them,” the Doctor said.   
“You're crazy! They're thieves in the water. They're taking us. They're taking your TARDIS!” Murray cut in.   
“That is true,” Hammond said.   
“Then we must understand why they are doing these things,” the Doctor said.   
“I'm getting out of here,” Murray said. “If you have half a brain, you do the same.”  
“You'll put ALL of us in danger if you try anything stupid,” the Doctor fired back. “Let me do the talking.”  
“Why?”  
“I'm your only chance you got!”

Chapter twenty-eight  
There were still a few creatures left on the oil rig guarding the mighty fortress like giants. Hernandez could see Kelly still leaning against the wall. She didn't seem to be aware of her surroundings.  
Hernandez shifted closer to her while avoiding being spotted. There was that massive, towering frame filled with green skin and gills. Not getting caught, Hernandez continued to skirt the edges of the outside wall.   
He seemed proud of his stealth mode. Must have come from playing all those video games in his younger days. Moving around during the quiet moments in an open world of digital bliss seemed to amuse him.   
He remembered playing games like “Quiet Death” and “No Kingdom for You” which were all basically stealth games with bits of frantic play in between on the battlegrounds.   
Now this.   
Reaching the offices' area, Hernandez crouched down next to Kelly as his knees cracked a little. He cursed under his breath while managing his hands around the girl's shoulders. Positioning himself, he was going to lift her up in his hands like a human forklift.   
“I'm getting you out of here,” Hernandez said. “Don't make a peep!”  
“Don't go near me!” Kelly said. “Don't!”   
“I know you're scared, but you're going to get us both killed if you don't stop shouting like that!”  
“Keep away! Keep away from me!”  
“I'm trying to help you!” Hernandez said.   
Craning his neck, he could see a couple of the Eocenes pivoting towards him like alert soldiers. He felt a creeping chill climbing into him as he watched the lizard-like monsters swirled towards him like a reptilian storm.   
Their faces woke with savagery while their outstretched hands lifted with a choking hold on the lances. There grew a rage which drew them closer to the trespassers.   
“Oh hell!” Hernandez said.   
He scooped the girl up right away in his arms while the savage stampede hurried like winds towards him. He retraced his steps back into the maze of corridors inside the oil rig.   
He caught sight of the helicopter for a moment, regretting he didn't know how to pilot a craft. He could see the metal copter sitting there with a beckoning.   
Hearing the angry wails of Eocenes made him move faster into the next hallway. Hoping for a good hiding spot, he took one of the offices down this route. The viewing screens were on the tenth and twelfth decks.  
Thankfully Hernandez didn't have to go that far as he careened into the office area. The pressing forms ripped through the outside door like it was paper. They moved like primal shadows.   
Hernandez realized carrying Kelly might slow him down, but he wouldn't think of that. Instead he charged forward while leaving behind the scurry of lizards. It seemed Kelly became a victim of her fears. He didn't blame her. 

Chapter twenty-nine  
With a few more knots, diverting near the dome-like city which sat like a museum piece, the Eocenes continued to move the TARDIS with their collective guards.  
They pushed the weight of the TARDIS through the waters while burying themselves in the depths. They were formidable swimmers as their hands held the corners of the TARDIS.  
What did the warriors do when they defeated a culture in the old days? What did the Babylonians do or the Assyrians do? What about the Romans? They would absorb the culture into their own to make learning better.  
Did the creatures see the TARDIS as some sort of trophy to be brought back? Was it some sort of prize to be put away on the shelf? Perhaps the pits of battles were always the priceless jewels to be gathered.   
And certainly the TARDIS was the biggest jewel to be found. The Eocenes shifted further into the deep while bringing the blue box between their scaffolding hands. It became an outstanding shrine to be guarded.   
The visit to the city below was one filled with process. The Doctor and others were escorted from the docked Exxon Prize into the bellowing, swirling landscape of buildings once they entered the dome.   
“You will be able to breath in the city,” Okkin added. “There will be no need for the suits.”  
“Thank you,” the Doctor said.   
In a keen plight of interest, the Doctor looked at the surroundings which reconciled great architecture with inspiration. It was like a living painting with a fast track to paradise.   
So many tall buildings and a begging canvas of bridges scoring across the Narris Keep. It would have made Frank Lloyd Wright jealous with its creative angst. It caused fatigue looking at the buzzing beauty of this place.   
Now the oil rig crew were taken to the king's court in the highest building of the Narris Keep of the Netosk Waters spreading with the achievements of the gods. The Doctor looked around like a young girl in a candy shop, her eyes flickering with curiosity.   
The king could be seen in his throne as a center of power. His parchment of skin looked old like someone who had seen the rise and fall of so many nights.   
The Doctor could see the king sitting in his throne with a masterful guidance of a confident leader. His frame fused with intensity. His eyes hooked with the clouds of wisdom.   
“Follow my example,” the Doctor said to the oil rig crew.  
As the Doctor and others shuffled into the courtroom, being an extravagant place filled with gold pieces and trophies, the king sat in his throne with a stoic presence.   
He looked like an unmoving statue with the exception of his eyes which flooded with intensity. His deep-sea frame looked more like a boastful frog with his booming stare.   
This place was filled with the desire for war. The Doctor saw that same sort of stare from the biggest dictators in the universe. That savagery fueled his halting features with a rage.   
Several swords decorated the walls. The Eocene history of war could be found in countless pictures drawn over the years. It matched the Sea Devils for the amount of bloodletting.   
Upon a first meeting, the king remained unimpressed by the human guests stepping into the middle of the throne room. Could be he grew a little offended by the sight of such creatures dirtying up his place.   
Along with the military procession, and keeping to formation, the captives were cluttered together for an audience with a king. The Doctor leaned forward to kneel before before the king.   
What was she doing? The Doctor lowered her eyes enough to avoid contact with the powerful, brewing figure sitting in his throne. Somehow she conveyed a blunt understanding of the royal customs.   
The king nodded with a solemn grace while the Doctor took the right approach while flattening her right hand on the floor. Her body leaned over with a dull throb from swimming while showing a pleasant respect.   
“Kneel!” Okkin shouted.   
With a brutal swipe, like a creature lashing out, Okkin hit Murray with the lance which caused the captive to drop to his knees. Murray ignored the whoosh of hurt in his stomach, defying the guardsman.   
“I don't get on my knees for anyone,” Murray growled. “Not for you or your gods.”  
“Kneel! KNEEL!” Okkin shouted.   
This time Okkin did not refrain from belting Murray with a glancing blow of the lance—the commander took to the floor like a beaten man as he clutched at his stomach in ache.   
Hammond received the same treatment while one of the side creatures plugged him with a swipe, causing the scientist to fall to his knees like a rock. His face twisted with pain.   
“That's nice of you to hit an old man!” Murray shouted.   
“I'm fine,” Hammond said.   
“You don't look it.”  
“My toothache still hurts worse,” Hammand said.   
“Why don't you fight someone instead of sitting on your moral grounds?” Murray said.   
“This isn't a place or time to be hot-headed!” the Doctor said. “You wouldn't go through this. Stop acting like Clint Eastwood and Ronald Reagan rolled into one!”  
“You stupid English with your accents! I don't negotiate with thugs or terrorists!” Murray said.   
“You're not at an advantage right now,” the Doctor said.   
“Ha. You're the one willing to bow to these animals.”  
“If you're willing to stop thinking of them as animals, you might get somewhere,” the Doctor snapped.   
Now the Eocene guardsman pressed his hand to Murray's shoulders, forcing him down to a bowing position, and the king studied them as if they belonged to a zoo. The king nodded with a breezy rasp in his voice.   
“You may rise!” Okkin shouted.   
The other men grumbled as they felt a twang of hurt while the creatures pulled them to their feet like a tugging mob. So did the Doctor who moved with all the skills of an ice skater as she rocketed to her feet.   
There seemed to be several levels of the Eocene citizens in the city: the king being most powerful, the well-spoken guardsmen who protected the city and the savages used like pawns in a war.   
Now Okkin and the other guardsman shoved the captives forward with a rude push. Even the Doctor twisted her head around to show an expression of disgust.   
When Murray was about to make a comment, the Doctor threw a glance at him that could break the universe in half. Murray clamped up his lips fast without making a sound.   
It was time to speak. 

Chapter thirty  
“My name is King Strongstorm,” the powerful beast in the throne said. “I do not welcome you. None of us do.”  
“Why have you brought us here?” Murray said.   
“I do not remember telling you to speak,” Strongstorm said.   
At his cue, like a professional actor going through the motions, Okkin hit Murray again with the blunt end of the lance. Murray felt the plunder of pain sink into his face with a slapping rage.”  
Strongstorm said, “You and your crew will be put on trial for the crimes you have committed.”  
The king nodded as he leaned forward with a gallant interest in the Doctor who seemed to be the most respectful. His features twisted with a blanket of scowls—he gave his consent to her.   
“What crimes?” the Doctor said. “Please elaborate.”  
“The humans called Kwame and Hammond took one of our own which is a transgression of our laws,” Strongstorm said.   
“They're ignorant,” the Doctor said. “Keep in mind they do not know of your laws.”  
“It is the law of life itself. The continued use of machines caused earthquakes which woke our city of Narris Keep and created a wave of death,” Strongstorm said. “Their search for fuel became a burden for the rest of us.”  
“Then let them defend themselves for the human race isn't without merit,” the Doctor said. “Allow them a chance to explain themselves.”  
“Their actions speak for themselves.”  
“This is a time when we all meet at a crossroads,” the Doctor said. “Don't let misunderstanding lead you to regrets you can't correct.”  
“The humans will perish for the many crimes they've done. It is the law.”  
“Then show us you understand democracy. Show us you, too, can be civilized. Take that step into a better world...”  
“They are guilty!” King Strongstorm said. “Where is the one called Kwame? Why is he not present to the trail?”   
“He is killed by one of our own,” Okkin said.   
“So be it.”   
“It doesn't have to be like this,” the Doctor said. “I want to know what happened to you. How did you come to be awake in these current times. Who are you?”

Chapter thirty-one  
“Our race of the Eocene has been here for millions of years when the dinosaurs roamed the earth,” King Strongstorm began his story,” Some of us even tamed the dinosaurs for our architectural purposes. In many ways, we are every bit as savage as the giant dinosaurs. My people lived during the same time as the Silurians and the Sea Devils. Perhaps you may have heard of them?  
The Doctor nodded.   
“However, the Eocene people struggle to maintain a balance of power with the other species of the old days. So a truce was formed between us and others like us. The Silurians kept to the earth, being gods of the rock, while the Sea Devils made their mark in the Pacific ocean. While my people kept to the Atlantic Ocean where the deep waters became our home.  
“It was not meant to be when the great interruption comes to us in ice and snow. The dinosaurs met their fate when a strange rock fell out of the sky. The Silurians and the Sea Devils retreated to their homes in slumber. My people did the same when we went into the Great Sleep.”  
“Fascinating!” the Doctor said. “You may be one of the first pioneers of the earth.”  
“When I, Strongstorm, woke to find the world has gone the ape-like creatures, I found the world filled with poison and sickness. Could this be? I have overshot the Great Sleep by a few thousand years to find myself in the middle of this strife?”  
“I find this incredible!” the Doctor said. “Your people are advanced in so many ways like the Silurians and the Sea Devils. You may actually be the link between those branches. Perhaps an intermediary species. You've barely scratched the surface of your technology here. So much could be learned from you...”  
“You know nothing of us!” Strongstorm shouted. “Humans have been reckless and selfish in their acts.”  
“We have made progress!” Hammond said in self-defense.”There have been advances in science. Our standards of living are better!”  
“Yet your tactics for war coincide with your glee for devastation. You are too dangerous for us to trust just as we are far too savage for you. War is our toxic. It is our passion. As it is yours...”  
“It doesn't have be like this!” the Doctor said.   
“You will eventually turn this planet into a boiling pot,” Strongstorm said. “You rely too much on fossil fuels. You will kill the earth.”  
“These humans are still learning! They're still progressing!” the Doctor said.   
“NO! No! They have polluted the world enough,” Strongstorm said. “They have been destroying too much for hundreds of years!”  
“Then give them a hundred more years to make up for the disasters they have created!” the Doctor said. “You'll find the human race is infallible!”  
“Death to the humans! I will declare war on them starting with you!” Strongstorm said.   
“Some lot of help you are,” Murray said to the Doctor. “You're digging us into a deeper hole!”  
“She's doing the best she can,” Hammond said.   
“What about our trail!” Murray shouted.   
“That WAS your trail!” Strongstorm said.   
“This is a farce!” Murray said. “And you know it!”  
“Don't disregard the old laws,” the Doctor appealed to the king. “There is another thing called justice. Let there be justice.”  
“Get them out of my sight!” Strongstorm said. “I do not wish to feast my eyes on such monsters. Take them to the holding cells!”  
“You're the monster!” Murray said.   
Now the Eocene guards rounded up the crew before preparing to escort them from the throne room. The towering creatures grappled the captives, their hands tightened on them with hate. Okkin remained in the room.   
“Do you know who I am?” the Doctor said. “I am the one who knocks!”   
“I do not care for what you tell me because you are no better than they are!” Strongstorm said.   
“Then look to your old history stories to which will tell a different story. You do NOT want to do this to me.”  
“Why?”   
“Because I can be very vindictive,” the Doctor said.   
“Surely, you must jest,” Strongstorm said. “Please get them out of here. Their holding cells awaits. I will bring my people to the next next Great Cycle and we will cleanse the world of your destruction.”  
“Your only chance is with me!” the Doctor said while being dragged away. “I can help you!”

Chapter thirty-two  
When the humans and the Doctor were removed from the courtyard, dragged through the ancient corridors, it was Okkin who stepped close to his king. There grew concern on Okkin's features.   
One could still hear the shouting and the protests from the human captives still in their breathing suits—Murray wailed something about the abuse of power here.   
“There have been stories of someone known as the Doctor,” Okkin said. “It is a name heard throughout history.”  
“Surely, you do not believe in such myths or stories?” Strongstorm said.   
“The myths. The legends. The old stories of the Doctor. There is some truth in every myth. And there are stories still clinging to the idea of a lone traveler.”  
“None of it is true,” Strongstorm said.   
“And what of the Battle of Scorosis which is a story sending waves throughout the universe.”  
“Bah.”  
“There could be a possibility,” Okkin replied.   
“It is too late for them. I condemn them to their fates. The humans have provoked this war with their technological foolishness. Now it is time for us to show them the errors of their ways. They will suffer under our pillage.”  
“Very well, your majesty.”  
Okkin lifted his head while watching the small knot of people taking to another part of the city. His breath became tired as he looked with creased eyes.   
It became a look of regret. 

Chapter thirty-three  
In the bridge part of the oil rig, looking like something out of a horror movie, Sasha and TJ kept quiet on their footsteps like the crawling tempo of a tiger in a jungle.   
Ducking into the office rooms, pressing the door closed behind her, she stepped into the space which seemed more like a tomb without anyone here.   
Now the rasping whispers of silence dripped into this room like a tank. It hit her hard while she maintained her stealth. So did TJ who followed her. She imagine those creatures might be looking for them.   
“You can look behind you, near the desk,” Sasha said.   
“Why?”   
“It's near the cache. You'll see it.”  
TJ glanced over to find the bow and arrows in the nest of compartments. He could see it was propped in the enclosed metal spaces. His hand reached for it like it was a baby needing to be hold.   
“Hello, old friend,” TJ said.   
“You can hold them off while I fetch some help here,” Sasha said. “I thought you might like getting the bow and arrow back.”  
“Thanks.”  
“Don't go bubbling with enthusiasm, all right? We're not out of this yet.”  
With a knowing glance, TJ helped himself to the bow and arrow with the swiftness of frightening ease. His fingers wrapped around the bow while he pulled the string back to fit an arrow into the niche.   
It was perfection. And he placed another arrow along the niche like a man building a temper. He did not flinch. He watched as two of the Eocenes could be seen like towering heights of horror.   
They stepped into the office area like assassins ready to take the humans. Sasha looked up from the computer to see the intruding creatures. She couldn't reach for her blaster in time.   
His fingers jumped as the arrows shot out from the whistling string on the bow. His eyes watched as the arrows found their targets. One of the Eocene caught an arrow in his chest while the other felt the bite of wood in his arm. They began to falter like they were drugged.   
“They'll sleep like babies,” TJ assured.   
“That's the most impressive shooting I've seen,” Sasha admitted.   
“It comes with the family. And I practice a lot.”  
However, the one creature on the left was lifting to his feet in a stubborn fight. His hideous, hell-bound frame shot up with outstretched arms. In response, TJ grabbed another arrow from the quiver.   
That monster became strong like a temple never worn down. His claws looked like talons enough to tear a sheet of metal. TJ stepped up to the monster and stabbed him with the arrow.  
The creature dropped to the floor without making a sound.   
“I could have taken him,” Sasha said.   
“You're getting a little edgy,” TJ said.   
“This is my base now. My rules. I'm not going to let those fin-filled monsters get at this place.”  
Sasha began to check over the computer for the current status while her eyes switched from the door to the console. Her thoughts concentrated while remaining at the scanner.   
Something odd caught her attention. Sasha looked at the scanner when she could see a blip on the radar. It seemed to be an unknown quantity. Nothing could be this big unless it's the blue whales.   
And even they were small compared to the high-pitched pip on the screen. It could mean a recipe for something bad. Sasha felt her face go white and pale with the chill going down in her.   
There was another sound coming from outside of the doors. It became a coughing noise as TJ pivoted on his feet. Sasha reached for her blaster as she leveled it as the doors waiting to be opened.   
The doors.   
Something was getting through.

Chapter thirty-four  
Now the doors slid open with sliding motions while Sasha remained behind the counter like a beautiful warrior ready to spring. Her dark features resembled the hills of Africa.   
Both TJ and Sasha readied themselves for the worst. Once the doors slipped open, with a dramatic creaking, they could see Hernandez carrying Kelly into the room.   
“Thanks for giving us a fright,” Sasha said.   
“You all right?” TJ said while lowering the arrow.   
“Why? What's wrong?” Hernandez said. “Nothing wrong except we got a bunch of savage monsters from the Amazon storming the oil right here.”  
“You manage to find us okay,” Sasha said.   
“I think Kelly is regressing,” Hernandez said. “I don't think she's right in the head.”  
“It must be the shock. The combination of dread and the isolation of the waters. It's a bad mix.”  
“I'll take care of her.”  
“Thanks. I have enough on my plate,” Sasha said.   
With a hopeful stir, Hernandez brought Kelly into one of the side rooms to place her on a small cot. It wasn't very comfortable apart from a single blanket.   
Hernandez could see something was bothering her. She was like someone who went to an imaginary island for a holiday and decided not to come back at all. Her eyes filled with an ocean of fear.   
“I'm not going back...” Kelly said. “I don't want to.”  
“You'll be fine here,” Hernandez said.   
“Don't leave me...” Kelly replied. “I can see monsters. Monsters in the closet.”  
“I won't leave you. I'm right here.”  
In the next room, waxing over the controls with a slight anger, she asked her friend TJ to lock the doors so they wouldn't get any more alarming guests. She knew the doors wouldn't hold the creatures out for too long.   
There needed to be another way to get out of here. She checked the internet for the latest on weather conditions which seemed to be plowing with a brewing storm. The internet was still working.   
The skies was breaking out into the middle of black night. Those strange creations of darkness tore above the oil rig. Was it worth the risk to get out of here by helicopter? The report on the internet wasn't very good.   
“How is she?” Sasha said.   
“Not good,” Hernandez said at the doorway to the side room. “Kelly needs to go to a hospital. There's nothing for her here.”  
“The good news is that the helicopter is fully fueled according to the computer,” Sasha said. “Which means I can take it up and bring Kelly to the nearest hospital on the mainland without a problem.”  
“That would be extremely helpful,” Hernandez said.   
“There's room for more,” Sasha said. “You're always welcomed to come with us.”  
“My place is with the Doctor,” TJ said.   
“That's too bad. I was getting to like you more,” Sasha said.   
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Hernandez said. “I saw the Doctor, the commander and Hammond go down to the city with those Eocene creatures.”  
“I'll go down to the farthest corners of the earth to find the Doctor,” TJ said.   
“Well, isn't that jolly of you,” Hernandez said. He turned to Sasha: “What about the bad news? You mentioned good news. There's always the bad.”  
“Something big is on its way in the ocean. I'm not sure what it is. I'm going to leave the oil rig behind. Declare it unusable.”   
“Always knew you were arrogant,” Hernandez said.   
“I'm not letting anyone else get a hold of this oil rig,” Sasha said. “This place is dangerous with those Eocenes on it.”   
“All right,” TJ said.   
“There are lifeboats you can take if you need to find the Doctor. It won't be safe to stay on board the oil rig anymore.”  
With a short breath, feeling a collecting fatigue in his chest, TJ nodded to the black woman with approval. He stepped over to the doors while giving a look-see down the corridors after unlocking them.   
There stood something down the hallway which rippled with approaching doom. It sounded like scraping against the floor while the shadow clambered over the walls with a rasping cry. TJ gripped his fingers on the bowstring with tension. 

Chapter thirty-five  
In the holding cells, being uncomfortable with a thick dampness, the closed rocks dripped with a smug air. Those inside the holding cells felt the shifting of condensation in the cramped spaces.   
It was the spilling of water everywhere outside. The ocean blotted out all with the staggering waves of strange life. It continued to cleave its merciful beat with the giant sloshing against the city dome.   
Murray could see there were also female creatures in the city, but they were scaly and savage as their male counterparts. Not attractive in the slightest way. It made him think of his wife.   
Being here was like being stuck in the middle of a jungle with savages. When was he going to go back to see his family? His thoughts clawed at his mind as he thought of not seeing his wife Alina again.   
The sudden realization hit him. Murray had been wanting a child in his marriage, but the effort grew more difficult as he got older. He did have a son from his first marriage, but he didn't see him often due to the family drama. His second marriage became stressed from lack of children.  
“We need to get out of here,” Murray said.   
“I heard you the first time,” Hammond grumbled.   
“That was a half hour ago. There has to be a way out. I want to take a closer look at that fuel source here.”  
“Stay away from that,” the Doctor exclaimed. “That's got nothing to do with you.”  
“Why?”  
“That's the lifeline the Eocenes rely on for countless generations. It's sacred to them.”  
“Sounds perfect.”  
“No one bothers to listen to me when it's most important here,” the Doctor said.   
“You don't understand the importance of this,” Murray said.   
“I think I do,” the Doctor snapped. “I'm giving you a warning. You're playing with fire.”  
One of the Eocene guards stepped up to the gate, his pulpit of features grew into a crevice of scales, and he looked like a messenger of ruthless barbarism. He stood like a tower of brutal force as he changed the key.   
In a few moments, going through the motions, the guard pulled the Doctor out of the cage. Somehow the Doctor was condemned to being treated as a guest while the others waited in the rotting corner.   
“What makes you so special?” Murray said.   
“Maybe they like my good looks?” the Doctor answered.   
“I never trusted you.”  
“I should not be so entirely surprised.”  
“Don't worry about us,” Hammond said. “I'll get out of here. So will Murray.”  
“Don't do anything stupid,” the Doctor quipped.   
“You better not be in cahoots with those things,” Murray said.   
“Nonsense. Remember what I've told you about the source. That power is far too advanced for you to understand it,” the Doctor said.   
“Why don't you play high society with your new friends.”  
Ignoring the petty remarks, the Doctor followed the guards out into the corridor leading to the throne room. She left the holding cells behind like a magical princess stepping into a fantasy castle.   
The Doctor was being whisked away to a place she didn't like. Her greater concern fell to a pair of men still trapped in a holding cell. She didn't need a knight in shining armor to rescue her. It would be the other way around. She'll have to save the men. 

Chapter thirty-six  
The Doctor was escorted into the ballet of royal comfort inside the king's own private quarters next to the throne room. His frame remained a powerful grace while he wore the golden crown on his head.   
Somehow the Doctor felt like she was going into a walk-in interview where she needed to say the right things. Diplomacy was such a delicate thing that only damn fools would take part of.   
How the king moved with arrogant confidence, swaying beneath the ceiling lights generated by the fuel source. She moved slowly into the room with her guard up. The Doctor wondered if she needed slippers in a castle like this.   
“Why do you speak while not allowing others to talk?” the Doctor said.   
“I am royalty while others are just considered warrior class people. Those who are royal staff and myself have the freedom to talk,” Strongstorm said.   
“So that sounds like an oligarch to me,” the Doctor said.   
“What is that?”   
“It is a political point I'm trying to make.”  
“Perhaps you would like refreshments?” Strongstorm said.  
“No thanks. I still have friends in the holding cells below this building. I don't wish to dine while they are kept prisoner,” the Doctor said.   
“Friends. Heh.”  
“What is it?” the Doctor said with a demanding voice.   
“My people scanned your biology which gave some interesting results. They tell me you are, indeed, not human.”  
“I could have told you that.”  
“You have two hearts, a different physiology, a double vascular system. Which makes you not human.”  
“I like it that way,” the Doctor piped.   
“Why do you keep the company of humans?” Strongstorm said.   
“It's a bad habit.”  
“Is it? Perhaps you should walk amongst them as a god. You should raise yourself above the minions.”  
“I just do what is right,” the Doctor said.   
Strongstorm dipped his hands into what looked like a meal filled with eggs and fish. It looked like certain crab meat that might still be thriving with life. His fingers lifted the delicatessen to his lips.   
He swaggered with a powerful frame used to commanding a horde of people beneath the waters. His taste grew ravenous as he ate through the samplings fit for a king.   
“A steady diet of eggs,” the king said. “Would you be interested in trying?”  
“Not at the moment,” the Doctor said.  
“I will give you a chance to leave before I rage war on the humans,” the king said. “You are not human like the others.”  
“Is that your consciousness talking or your war advisers?”  
“Okkin can be very persuasive soldier,” Strongstorm said.   
“What of the others?” the Doctor said.   
“The humans will face their face with less dignity. You will not have to suffer the same consequences. This is my gift to you.”  
“I could not do that. I'm not going to leave them,” the Doctor said.   
“The one named Nestor tells me that you have shown compassion where few dare to trend. This sets you apart from the others,” Strongstorm said. “This is why I'm giving you this chance.”  
“That would be desertion in the end,” the Doctor said. “I'm not going to abandoned anyone. I'm not going to turn this into another Battle of Scorosos.”   
“I have heard the battle is a great victory for you,” Strongstorm replied.   
“At the expense of others,” the Doctor said. “No. No. Not this time. I have other solutions.”  
“Which is?”   
“Do you have a communications device?”  
The king nodded towards the fixture on the wall with several eggs and a monitor. It looked like smaller eggs to be manipulated for control, using the fingers to move them around like a series of connecting puzzles.   
It seemed like child's play to her as she reached the small console which looked back at her with a strange process. It was an interesting invention as she checked over it with a graceful note.   
Her fingers danced and tapped over the egg-like buttons, pulling and pushing like one shifting over a sheet of braille. Those became touch-sensitive motions.   
“I'm almost getting it,” the Doctor announced. “There!”  
The monitor shifted before her looking like one of those old TVs on Saturday night where the reception was breaking through snow. Somehow the picture grew better when the clarity focused on a solitary figure.   
It looked familiar as the rough skin like leather, and the barbarian grace of a cave dweller found at Wenley Moor. His mouth was small and sucker-like while his primary eyes resembled yellow, cat-like pupils.  
“I need to speak with Krored,” the Doctor said.   
“I am the one you are asking for,” the creature said. “Why do you call for me in a time of peace?”  
“This is urgent. You must listen to me,” the Doctor said. “Because there may be no peace left.”  
“Is this true?”  
“What are you doing?” Strongstorm shouted to the Doctor. “Get away from that screen!”  
However his third eye above the brow was red surrounded by a plate of bone. His external ears grew out of the Silurian like sockets of strange flesh. His face was unearthly.   
Where were they now? The Doctor tried to communicate with the pioneers of old. Her fingers locked on the egg-like controls while she felt the stare of the Silurian cutting through her guilty soul. 

Chapter thirty-seven  
Inside the holding cell, cramped with a lack of space, Murray and Hammond stood together in what felt like the end of days. This was a world of no escape as the commander continued to think of his loved ones.   
Now his thoughts turned to the bubbling fuel source he had seen when he first walked into this city. It made his senses crawl with how the daylight fed this dark place.   
Murray weighed in the chance of bringing this new Eocene fuel to stop the crisis his world faced. He kept thinking about a hero's return if he found a way to harvest this power. No longer would they need to rely on the Middle East for the fuel of old.   
“You got something in mind?” Hammond said.   
“It's nothing,” Murray said.   
“Your mind is wandering. I can tell. You're up to something.”  
“How's that toothache of yours?” Murray said.   
“Never better. What do you think. I want to pull it out it with a string,” Hammond said.   
“Now's your chance to get rid of your little tooth problem. You get my meaning?”  
“Uh-huh.”  
Shooting a glance over his shoulder at the guard standing outside the holding cell, Murray shifted into a pose like he was ready for battle. Hammond set himself for a pretty good show.  
He reached up to his cheek as he gave a frantic shout, his voice coughing with spasms of pain. It was more than just a show. It was awarding winning acting. Hammond bowed over as if in a bout of hurt.  
With an outrageous shout, making off like William Shatner overacting on stage, Hammond staggered and stamped with pretend aches blazing in his tooth. Seeing him dropping to his knees, the creature grew perplexed by him.   
“Why is he making that disagreeable noise?” the Eocene guard said.   
“He needs help, stupid. He's in a lot of pain,” Murray said. “Do you want your king to be crossed if anything happens to him?”  
Murray gestured with his hand to his friend to play up the overacting some more. Hammond shook his head and made gasping groans.   
“Get away from the door,” the guard said.  
“Anything to make him better, thank you,” Murray said.   
As the creature stepped into the holding cell, checking over the prisoner still shouting at the top of his lungs, he could see the old man jumped up like a rocket launcher. There was still enough fight in Hammond.   
Circling around to the back, Murray gripped the Eocene guard as they hanged on him like children fighting an adult. Murray locked his arm around the creature's neck as he made a single, twisting snap.   
Beneath the bone-cracking sound, hearing the creature drop to the floor after the short wrestling match, the crew men could see the Eocene guard laid in stillness.   
“Did you see what he did with the lance?” Murray said. “It could open doors.”  
“We should be able to get out of here,” Hammond said. “It's bad enough we killed one of them.”  
“Not yet. I'm not going anywhere until I find that source of the Keep's energy,” Murray said. 

Chapter thirty-eight  
While the Doctor tried to raise a message on the communications device, the king grew impatient with her. She could see how savage he was like a titan wavering between controlled anger and hate.   
It could go any direction for him. His moods swung like the wind blowing in the wrong way. His hand gripped her shoulder as he tugged her away from the message. His nimble talons tightened like clamps.   
The transmission was turned off before the king could get wind of it. His eyes narrowed as the Doctor pulled a crease from her coat. She stood for a moment before the king brushed her off aside with a savage whim.   
“What are you doing?” Strongstorm said.   
“I'm trying to teach you how to take care of this world,” the Doctor said. “This ocean has no soul.”  
“Get away from that!”  
“You can show your people a better path.”  
Strongstorm shoved the Doctor aside with a scathing movement, his face filled with alarm as he could see a bleeping sound chirping on the machine. His ragged breath turned into an ear-splitting scowl, his throat filled with a tremble.  
“You were sending a S.O.S?” Strongstorm said. “You're too late.”  
“I'm trying to help you,” the Doctor said. “There are others who can guide you through this difficult time.”  
“It matters not! I will put the humans down like dogs!”   
“Why don't you listen to yourself?” the Doctor replied. “Is this how a king should act?”  
“I refuse to acknowledge the human race,” Strongstorm said. “They have infested the waters with their pollution. Interfered with nature with fossil use. The ill-timed anti-matter experiments. All of it destructive!”  
“What good will your actions do?” the Doctor said. “There will be a loss of lives on both sides.”  
“No! I will change the rules of this game!” Strongstorm said.   
With a sudden turn, his footsteps gathering into a stomp, the king pulled the door to his room open as he signaled for the Eocene guards guards to approach.   
In a thunder of machine-gun footsteps, Okkin stood at the door at his master's orders.   
“I'm calling up the Sealiathan!” Strongstorm said. “Then we shall see the ruins of humanity.”  
“What are you doing?” the Doctor said. “What is the Sealiathan?”  
“It is a mythological beast of epic proportions,” Okkin said. “It could move mountains in its rage.”  
“There is nothing mythic about it. The Sealiathan is real as you or me,” the king barked.   
“No one has ever called it up before. No king,” Okkin said. “Do you think that is wise?”'  
“Are you questioning my authority?”   
“No, your majesty.”  
“The Sealiathan will wreak havoc on the human race! It will be our salvation!”  
“Or it could be our destruction,” Okkin added.   
“I will bring its might under the reign of the Eocenes. The Sealianthan will bring first blood for us!”  
“My king,” Okkin said. “Think about what you're doing.”  
“Do you fear it?” Strongstorm said. “Do you feel the adrenaline rushing in you? It is a beautiful thing. Such savage bliss. The final descent on humanity is coming!”  
“You're insane!” the Doctor shouted.   
“There will be nothing left of the human race when the Sealianthan is finished! It'll be the start of a brand new war. Maybe I'll start with the city of London since you seem to be fond of it. You visit it often, so it must be important!”  
“Stop it! Stop what you're doing!” the Doctor said. “None of this will lead to anything better!”  
“I have listened to enough of your petty appeals! Make sure the Doctor witnesses my triumph! Keep her under house arrest! She'll be able to see her defeat from here!” Strongstorm said. “It's time to make the humans grovel!”  
When Okkin gripped the Doctor with his hand, pulling her to the side while the king vented his anger, it felt like he was forcing her to step into line. The Doctor brushed him off with a shrug.  
Okkin mouthed the words to her, “I am sorry.”  
As the Doctor remained in the room, Okkin followed his king into the throne room which seemed to be a forbidden place. They forged into the king's demanding lead. She was a prisoner again.   
She continued to watch the king while she caught sight of her warden shutting the door on her. There seemed to be a mute helplessness in his stare. The Eocene shifted along her with a lizardly march.

Chapter thirty-nine  
Inside the throne room, where the hulking expenses of décor hanged with excessive allure, the king planned on calling the Sealianthan at the height of his victory. It became a moment of glory.   
His eyes grew with a cauldron of hate. It was a primal hate for the humans. His lingering madness became too much as he stormed into the throne room with a hunger for power.   
Somewhere down there in the ocean, there was a giant living in sleep. For so many generations, in the pocket of darkness, the Sealianthan remained in its resting place while the world was safe.   
Not anymore.   
The Sealianthan would become the harbinger to this new world. This broken earth would be mended by the savagery of its plight. That solace for violence seemed to be the answer for civilization.   
The beast slept. But no longer would it be huddled in the bottoms like a sleeping burden. Now the waters will rise with the Sealianthan. And with it, the Eocenes will win a war against the world.   
The king will see to that.   
Strongstorm approached the lever in the throne room which resembled an egg, offering a fractured opening with the cracks around it. This egg seemed to perspire with steam. It looked like an egg coughing with smoke.   
With a decided rage, Strongstorm reached for the edge of the lever. It would change his Narris Keep's fate and also the lives of the Eocenes who would forever follow his lead.   
“Is this a good idea?” Okkin said.   
“I'm doing this for the good of my people,” Strongstorm said. “His world has changed too much without us.”  
“Is it right to call on the Sealianthan? This is unprecedented.”  
“It is necessary,” Strongstorm replied. “The humans of the earth will learn the folly of their ways. They must stand corrected.”  
“You must think about what you're doing! The Doctor was right! You must reconsider!”  
“It would be foolish of me to stall,” Strongstorm said. “Enough of this whimpering.”  
“This decision is rash, your majesty!” Okkin shot back. “You don't know what you're doing!”  
“I call up on the Sealianthan. And let the world shudder at our power!”  
“It is a monster from the deep! Calling it would be like raising the devil himself! Remember what happened to Atlantis?” Okkin said.  
Ignoring his second's advice, stirring near the egg-like switch, Strongstorm reached into the egg where he called on the monster of the ocean. It felt like the world split as the nightmare formed in the dark waters.   
At first glance, it looked like countless rats crowding the water until the pouring shape stirred through the blizzard of horror beneath the surface. Into the egg Strongstorm reached to set the organic controls.   
His ears perked as he listened to the chorus singing to the beast from the depths. Strongstorm reached the trigger as he pulled to make the call despite Okkin's opposing views. It was a frightening sound.  
“The Sealianthan will rise again!” Strongstorm shouted.   
“What have you done?” Okkin said.   
“I saved your people from the offenders on the land. The human race will falter!”  
“This is WRONG! You have no idea what you've done!”  
“I know I brought salvation to my people. I tire of your ceaseless banter! Now witness the destruction of the human race!”  
“This is tragedy!”   
“I will face my ascendency to power!” Strongstorm announced.   
The other Eocene guards along with Okkin watched above as the city became witness to the massive creature detaching itself from the bloated depths of the seas.   
It pierced through the waters from the Meleagris Patas fissure like a streaming missile of power, living, terrible, a breeze of tremendous creeping. The Eocenes could see the events unfold before them like history.  
There was Strongstorm waiting for the rise to godhood as the thrust of the message he sent reached the ocean with a teeming noise. It became a wake-up call to the beast from the shadows.   
Further down into the Davy Jones's locker grew the growing monstrosity. Something cracked the earth before as the darkness lifted like a behemoth breaking through the great deep. 

Part Four  
Chapter forty  
Inside the source of the eternity power, boiling with eager energy near the engine room, the giant egg grew into a profuse, limitless channel of force. This place enticed with the power of the gods.   
Using the lance he took from the fallen Eocene guard, Murray opened the door which looked like an egg breaking apart before reassembling again. It looked more like a movie special effect.   
Siding into the upper levels, Murray reached for the middle of the cat-walk without spilling over. He gripped the rials while he watched the burden of energy beneath.  
His colleague Hammond stepped alongside the railings as he followed the commander. Sometimes he told himself he should have called in sick so he would never deal with this.   
His commander looked like someone who lost his way. His thoughts seemed to obsess with the fuel which gave this underwater city the power to thrive. It was a place of incredible power.   
“Do you feel it?” Murray said. “You can tell in the air. I can taste it.”  
“Yeah, it tastes like copper to me,” Hammond said. “I don't like it. There could be all sorts of radiation here.”  
“There's enough energy to rid the world of its fuel problems. I know it! This is what we've been looking for! The fuel here will bring the world back from the brink!”  
“You'll never get out of this place if you stall,” Hammond said.   
“Come on. There must be a way to extract the energy from that egg down there,” Murray said.   
“Narris Keep probably relies on this energy,” Hammond said. “It'll be like stealing.”  
“Hogwash! There must be a way. I'm not leaving this city until I get it. I'm not going to be a loser.”  
When Hammond collected himself at the railing, keeping on his toes, he could see the commander taking a reading on the egg below. There grew a thrashing expression of satisfaction on his face.   
It was like seeing a child in a cotton candy store. There was a sense of greed in his features that never went away. Murray was approaching dangerous grounds here. He still carried the lance he got at the holding cell.  
Somehow he kept staring down at the abyss of madness where the egg provided a beaming, strange life. Hammond wondered if those noodle-like vines strewn across its surface will become moving tentacles.  
“We should get out of here,” Hammond said. “Find the Exxon Prize.”  
“We're going to get what we came for here,” Murray said.   
“That's good because we're about to get a lot of company here,” Hammond said.   
Through the far door which cracked like an egg opening up, several guards stirred through like shuffling monsters. The Eocene hissed as they legged towards them with lances in their hands.   
The reptilian forms sneered with a stirring crisis, arms reaching out with slashing fingers. They carried lances ready to beat down on the intruders. The Eocene stepped closer with the stench of a thousand fish.  
“No! NO! I must have the fuel!” Murray shouted. “It'll be the only thing to save my people from extinction!”  
“Hiiiisssss!” one of the Eocene snarled.   
“Don't let them get the upper hand on you,” Murray said to Hammond. “Wait until they're close enough and throw them off.”  
“There's no way to fight them,” Hammond said. “We should surrender.”  
“They'll kill us on the spot,” Murray growled. “The Eocene aren't the most sporting bunch. Haven't you noticed?”  
As the Eocene toiled on the organic transverse across the staggering deep of Narris Keep, their hunger lit with ferocious savagery. They tore at the men like animals as Murray fought against them.   
The Eocene were growing more territorial now. They were the masters of the waters and in the city below the surface. The closest Eocene gritted his teeth with a seething noise like he was going to bite. 

Chapter forty-one  
Still trapped inside the quarters under house arrest, the Doctor stood with glaring impatience while seeing the Eocene guards posted at the door. Something as wrong. She could feel the grounds beneath shaking.   
Now the air grew teeming with pockets of rattling horror. Her midnight hair sprayed across her shoulders while threads of tresses spilled across her face. She bit down on her lower lips while she forced the door open.  
Without much interest, the Eocene guard remained at his post near the egg doors. His fierce teeth exposed as he snarled at her while the Doctor grew disappointed. She felt the pounding on the ground turning into a stampede.   
It was an approach of a god.   
“You hear that?” the Doctor said. “You got to let me go! I can help you!”  
The guards did not listen to her.   
“I can help your city of Narris Keep avert disaster!” the Doctor claimed.   
The Eocene guard remained unmoved while being loyal to his king, being such eager stubbornness, and his face twisted into another savage growl. It was like trying to reach your hand into a bag filled with stray cats.   
Now the Doctor was trending on dangerous ground while the ocean shook with a jarring trembling. The Doctor managed to stay on her feet while the city felt another shock.   
“Come on! Listen to what's happening outside” the Doctor said. “That doesn't sound good! Your king is overstepping his rule!”  
“Shut up!” the guard said. “Your prattling sickens me!”  
“I can talk like this forever. Would you like that?” the Doctor said. “You'll be so sick of me that you will want to throw me out!”  
Narris Keep shook with a reckless convulsion as the walls cobbled together threatening to fall. Part of the dome boomed with the tension of the attacks. It felt like something kicked the city with a striking blow. 

Chapter forty-two  
The Sealianthan was coming. Part of the beams holding the ceiling trickled down under the sudden bursts knocking into the city. The debris fell onto the first Eocene guard.  
As the second guard sprang to his feet with a vicious snarl, the Doctor reached for one of the decorations on the wall in the room. Her fingers gripped the handle to the long, sharp blade of the sword.   
The second guard made a darting motion with the lance, propelling himself into the fight with a savage thirst. She parried to the left with the skill of a sorceress.   
It had been a while since she used swords, but it came back to her as she remembered the excellent moves. It didn't take long her to disarm the guard. It was just a matter of finding the weak spot and taking him.   
A clink.  
A clank.  
And she deprived the Eocene guard of the sword while sidestepping his initial attacks. The creature did manage to tear into her coat with his talons, leaving a few marks on the lapel.  
“That's my good coat!” the Doctor said. “Yoko Ono gave me that coat when she was seventy-two!”  
Before they could clash again like lightening bursts, shifting like spirits of war, the Doctor cut down the Eocene. with gliding, focused rage. She didn't want to do it, but she could no longer afford the distraction.   
The creature fell dead at her feet.   
The Doctor gave a sharp tug at her English riding coat, dusting off the dirt from her lapel, walking from the fight like a boss. She didn't bother giving another glance to the Eocene as she stepped over his corpse, propping the sword against the wall to honor the fallen Eocene.   
Now the Doctor glanced out of the window from the room to see the world of water. That cold waste of the abyss seemed to desecrate the ocean with its sweeping form. Narris Keep was breaking apart under its anger.   
The constant movement of the Sealiathan tore into the water while lifting above the rocks like a whirling storm. It was like a cancer in the ocean as it growled like a giant furnace of anger.   
“There! That's it!” the Doctor muttered. “That is the reason for all the earthquakes the Holderness had. There must be a way to stop it!”  
Outside the Sealiathan was the endless storm carving the path through the ocean, and the creature—looking half Kraken, half snake—slithered like a foul thing through the ravages of the sea.   
Its maddening plight fell into a roaring fit as the Sealiathan plundered the depths as it boomed against the city dome with a blasting fit. It was using itself as a battering ram.   
Was the Sealiathan insane? Was it just a savage monster let out of its proverbial cage to bring horror and destruction? The crawling thing flitted like a barking, twisting and rabid dog. This sea serpent of horror.   
“Now I know what happened to Atlantis,” the Doctor muttered again. “It's happening all over again.”  
Darting down through the egg doors, breaking open, finding her way into the throne room, the Doctor avoided the falling rubble while striding into the king's domain. Her English riding clothes rippled with a rage of color. 

Chapter forty-three  
Murray tried to pluck the lance from the Eocene with his own weapon, shuffling, tugging—the hateful creature growled at him like a monster. They locked into a deadlock as they struggled.   
Twisting with the lance, making a sharp turn, Murray fended it off. Hammond did the same with a wrench he got from a tool box on the oil rig. He swung left and right while sweat broke out on his face.   
“Don't you understand?” Murray cried out. I'm doing this for earth!”  
“Thief!” the Eocene guard shouted. “You steal our power. Our fuel!”  
“I want to help my people, you stupid lizard!”  
Now the collecting footsteps of approaching guards stormed the winged transit while Murray and Hammond were still on it. The Eocene lunged forward like savages.   
“Fight it like you mean it!” Murray said to his friend.  
“There's too many of them,” Hammond shouted.   
“Hold them off!”  
“I have to admit that I take no pleasure in working with you, sir,” Hammond confessed.   
“Yeah, I hate you too,” Murray said.   
The Eocene approached the crew men like a storm of lizards. Their hissing faces hanged with excessive violence while their eyes reddened with the savage lust which propelled them into misguided terror.   
Hammond used the flat of the lance to push back the attacking Eocene, hearing the snapping of its foul teeth. Their grew a blood rage which characterized the Eocene so much—and the old man held his ground.   
On the other hand, Murray fought the closest creature while they locked into a stirring fight on the arched overpass. Murray swung the lance in the cradle of his hand, knocking the monster over the railing.   
Another Eocene rammed into Murray in a suicidal rage, putting him off balance. They looked like acrobats having trouble on a trampoline. Murray gripped the second Eocene with his hand.   
“I'm taking you with me!” he shouted.  
Turning over in the fall, Murray teetered into the abyss which held the static egg below. That engineering feat of technology remained in its ill-fated crevice. Murray and the Eocene guard fell deeper into the mouth of the enigmatic power source.   
Falling, falling deeper.   
“Commander!” Hammond shouted from above.   
Beneath the plummeting victims, shuffling to their deaths, the instance of impact into the source rippled with an explosive roar. The egg crumbled with power while the bright, blinding flash engulfed with a flash.   
In the sensation of the blasting brightness, Hammond tore himself away from the rails of the catwalk as he felt the tidal wave of exploding, glazing intensity. Not ignoring his chance, he made his escape.   
Weaving between the dazed, perplexed Eocenes, Hammond shielded his eyes as he ran for the door to leave behind the giant eggs. Running into the idle corridors, Hammond watched the city become shocked with falling debris.   
What was that? What was happening?   
Hammond did not think about it when the attacks on the city was being made by the elusive creature on the outside. He needed to get away from this place. It was creaking with disaster. 

Chapter forty-four  
In the throne room of Narris Keep, wobbling with falling debris, the king tried to wrestle back control of the monster. His features tightened with a sober expression while his lips curled with a snarl.   
Reclaiming his power over the Sealiathan proved to be too difficult. His hands shook while he grasped the controls inside the egg. The city was turning into a broken place.   
“What is happening?” the Doctor shouted when stepping inside. “The attacks feel more pronounced now.”  
“Something... something happened to the power source,” Strongstorm said with growing fear. “The shields to the dome are breaking down.”  
“If the protective shields are gone, it could prove disaster for the city!”  
“This I know, you yammering fool!”  
“I can rewire the power source!”   
“It is too late for that!” Strongstorm cried out.  
The Doctor reached the foot of the royal chamber, moving in like she owned the place. She avoided the plummeting debris while he saw King Strongstorm choked with controlling the monster. It was a failing battle.   
Blasting through the dome with a hurricane of anger, rattling the sheet of mighty glass over the plight of the city, that prehistoric monster plowed into the heartache of the arched cathedral.   
“You're not in control of it anymore,” the Doctor said.   
“I should kill you where you stand,” Strongstorm said.   
“Why don't you? Afraid?”  
“I'm not frightened of you. This is all your fault.”  
“Allow me to the chance to fix things! It's what I do!”  
“Something... happened to the power source of the city,” Strongstorm said. “It is no longer containing the creature. The control is faulty! No! NO! I must master the Sealiathan!”  
“There's nothing left of it except purse savagery now,” the Doctor said. “It's just a primal, ancient beast. It knows of no civilization.”  
“It is lost because of you!” Strongstorm lashed out.   
“I can stop this if you'll let me. It's just a maddening thing now.”  
“You should be condemned for all of this. This is YOUR fault!”   
“Then let me finish this!” the Doctor said. “I'll be able to transform your communications into a transmitter. I can send shockwaves to fend it off.”  
“More nonsense from a Time-Lord,” Strongstorm said.   
The Doctor began to patch up the central egg, her fingers slapping wires and figments of machinery together like a mad scientist at work. Her face offered a solemn peace while adding all the pieces together. 

Chapter forty-five  
At the same time, feeling the booming of another attack, the beast rammed against the dome of Narris Keep once more like a battering ram. That complete force of horror could engulf the entire city.  
Now the dome began to crack like an eggshell. The king roared with terrified anger while the Doctor continued to work on her invention involving a shockwave inducer. She wavered over it like a first prize science project.   
“I'm building an Augmented Broadcast Telelocator Kit,” the Doctor said. “It should help your city.”  
“It is never going to work!”  
“Oi! Don't knock it!”  
“I will kill you for the destruction you brought on this city,” Strongstorm said.  
“Then go ahead and kill me,” the Doctor said. “Otherwise shut up and let me do my job.”  
“You bring death and destruction everywhere you go.”  
“And you're not helping. Now get out of my way.”  
The Doctor returned to the Augmented Broadcast Telelocator Kit while stringing together more wires, turning her talent into improvising this machine. She was going to adapt the egg tech into producing shockwaves.   
It'll be like using a giant hammer against the beast. Her fingers reached into the engines of the system while her English riding clothes toiled around around her feet on the floor.   
She needed to stop the Sealiathan in bringing more attacks on the city itself. The Doctor could hear the rattling booms above.   
Behind the Doctor and the king, other creatures stirred in the far pockets of shadows. The floor beneath her trembled while the invading Eocene crossed through the chamber room.   
Those collecting figures moved with furtive stealth while sneaking up on Strongstorm. They moved like whispers while the city fell apart around them. It was Okkin and Nestor who carried swords in their hands.   
Okkin met his king with a grievous wound as his sword plunged into his opponent's backside. Swirling around in a knot of pain, Nestor did the same by shoving the metal sword into his majesty's chest.   
They looked like lizards as the lesser Eocenes attacked from both sides. No doubt the king dropped with a beat of savage hate as he felt the foes pull out the swords which plunged into him.   
“Everything ends with your death!” Okkin shouted.   
They watched as Strongstorm dangled to the chamber floor, watching the loss of blood climbing from his skin and chest. It became a death toll while the air tightened around him in gloom.   
Strongstorm fell to the marble, polished sheet that was the floor. His body laid unmoving while his head rolled to a standstill as his eyes looked on with an accusing stare. Their deceased king.   
The Doctor stopped for a moment while she looked over to the side to see the newcomers in the throne room.   
“Was that really necessary?” the Doctor said. 

Chapter forty-six  
“The king has been unhinged for many months now, always talking of war, seeping in violence,” Okkin said. “He would not step down.”  
“Assassination? Is that how democracy works these days?” the Doctor said as she began her work on the device again.   
“Now I am next in line for the throne, being his adviser, and there is no other lineage to challenge me to the role of the king. He never took a consort.”  
“You'll be king of a dead city.”  
“Strongstorm was mad with power and sick with grief with what the humans have done to the world,” Okkin said. “I am not going to overstep the line as he did. His emotions have blinded him. He became unstable.”  
“I believe you,” the Doctor said. “Now shut up and let me finish this work.”  
“I will consider your solutions to the problems we are facing,” Okkin said.   
“I'm glad to hear it. Do you mind?”  
The wounded one stepped down to the courtyard of the throne room, his huddled form still held the bloodied sword. It was almost a symbol he was carrying.  
Now Nestor found his voice like a child putting in his vote, searching for the right words. His footsteps shuffled while a few choking sounds leaped from his mouth.   
“I am allowed to speak for the first time,” Nestor said. “Please save us. Help us.”  
“I'll do what I can,” the Doctor said. “Now stand back!”  
The Doctor fiddled with the Augmented Broadcast Telelocator Kit, and her fingers poured over the cannibalized parts of the device. She produced what looked like a CD from her pocket.   
It was a white cover with some lettering on the top. Her face brightened with glee as she placed the CD into the slot of the adaptable egg machinery before her. She turned on the communications port.   
The Doctor said, “I'm building a device that will create a series of soundwaves that will fend off the Sealiathan. Or at least I hope so. All I need is a little help from my friends.”  
She plunged the CD into place as she threw down the next lever in the most theatrical way to create a flood of soundwaves emitting from the city like a rock concert.   
This song of noise blasted against the roaming Sealiathan outside as it howled and screamed under the plight of raging guitar riffs and drums with booming echoes.   
“You say you want a revolution!  
Well, you know!  
We all want to change the world!  
You tell me that it's evolution!  
Well, you know!  
We all want to change the world!”  
Outside of Narris Keep, hearing the whirl of commotion, the Sealiathan received the full blast of shocks from the music heading into its direction via the machine the Doctor created.   
It felt like a rippling of noise pounded into its senses as the music continued. The monster snapped back its head while it could not fight the constant soundwaves. It struggled. It growled.   
Shifting back from the city, pulling away from the rigors of music, the monster pulled into the deeper part of the waters while hearing the play on words. It buckled and cried under the power of the Beatles providing support, driving the Sealiathan back. Its hands clipped its ears in attempt to deafen itself.   
“Don't you know that you can count me out!  
Don't you know it's gonna be all right!  
All right, all right!”  
The Doctor listened to the music while catching the beat. She watched the beast of the Sealiathan stirring from the abyss, pulling back from the loud soundwaves which bashed it like a bath of noise.   
First the Sealiathan tried to circle around a couple times, regaining its composure, and it made itself into a cannonball against the dome. It made one more roar as it swiftly pulled back waiting for the music to die down.  
It hated the music as it resumed its trek around the coral reefs, toiling like a predator as its fierce eyes latched with a vital stare. It drew closer and away while the music blared. It was the Doctor's favorite band.   
“Is it gone?” Okkin said.   
“I'm not sure yet,” the Doctor said. “It's smarter than it looks. And that's saying a lot for a prehistoric monster. However I can't help fix that growing crack in the dome.”  
“Do you have a solution?” Okkin said.   
“There's a saying. Even in a desert there is an occasional oasis,” the Doctor said. “I always have a solution.”

Chapter forty-seven  
On the Holderness oil rig, making an attempt to reach the helicopter, Sasha knew it would be difficult to get to the cockpit without being seen. The platform of metal was crawling with the Eocene.   
The clamps were still down on the grates, keeping the helicopter from being pushed over from heavy winds. Someone was going to need to unhook the metal clamps while they made their escape.   
So it was settled. While Sasha and the others would get into the helicopter, taking their place on the seats, TJ would get the hooks off in time. And then it will be smooth flying for the copter. It was still night outside with a little daylight trickling in like a growing crack.   
“That's it,” Sasha said. “I see a couple of those Eocene. We need to go straight to the copter. No diversions.”  
“I hear you. Except if we don't get out in time, Kelly isn't going to get better,” Hernandez said.   
“I realize that,” Sasha said.   
“Is that a go?” Hernandez said.   
With a tight nod, Sasha signaled for the crew to make their departure for the helicopter from the office building section. Their footsteps plowed together in a soft patter while she reached for the blaster in her holster.   
TJ moved alongside like a silent bird, his bow and arrows carried on his backside. He reached for the first of the clamps which struck out like a giant peg, noting its weight.   
His hands fought with the first clamp while his friends made it into the copter. Hernandez carried Kelly into the back space while Sasha slipped into the pilot seat. There! TJ was going to the second clamp.   
It was going to be a close call. She piled on the headgear right away while throwing the switches into place. Now, like a hive being woken, the swarm of Eocene moved towards them like a swarm.   
“They're coming!” Hernandez shouted.   
“I see them!” Sasha said while gritting her teeth.  
Breaking through the veil of silence with wild urges, the Eocene tore into action. Sasha reached out through the copter door with her blaster while leaning to the right to take out the first attacker.   
Her blasting shot caught the Eocene in the chest as it knocked him back to the ground. TJ continued to fume over the clamp.   
Finally! The last hook!   
While TJ attempted to wrestle with the last of the three clamps, hurrying himself, he tugged achingly at it. His mind was filled with anguish as he pulled harder like a fisherman working a stuck piece of string.   
All it needed was some pulling. That's all.  
He tugged harder while his fingers twisted around the last clamp, and he wrenched it from the socket. Behind him one of the Eocene took hold of him as its claws gripped around his shoulder. 

Chapter forty-eight  
It was ready to take his head off. Above him, while struggling against the looming creature, TJ could hear the propeller shards snapping into motion. It was going faster and faster while the stutter of blades hit the air.   
“Go on! Get out of here! Forget about me!” TJ shouted.   
Sasha pulled out the blaster once more to shoot the Eocene in the face, making good on her promise to keep him safe. She was no one to mess with when TJ watched the Eocene drop to the ground.   
“Go! Go!” TJ shouted.   
Now TJ stood alone on the platform while he lowered his head, his hand shielding his eyes from the whooshing wind.   
“Are you sure you don't want to go with us?” Sasha shouted.   
“I have to be here for the Doctor,” TJ said in the winds.   
“She could be dead.”  
“I prefer not to believe that!”  
“You're crazy if you want to stay here.”  
“I'll be fine.”  
“So be it. Take care!” Sasha shouted.   
Shifting the helicopter upwards, soaring upwards into the bloated sky, Sasha remained peerless as a pilot. Her hands gripped the controls as she flew the vehicle into a long, straight line towards the outstretched horizon.   
It was gearing up for the long ride to the mainland, leaving behind the Holderness oil rig. The skies broke out in a strange cluster of dark clouds while symphony of the copter's thunder rippled in the air.   
TJ saw the pair of Eocene lumbering towards him with greeting hands, their talons shambling to grip him. However, TJ plucked the arrows from the quiver as he shot one of them in the chest. It stuck out it him like a needle.   
“Should have leaned a little more to the left,” TJ muttered. “And no more sleeping arrows. This is going to be tough.”  
TJ could see the helicopter rising above with the propellers cutting into a flitting whirl, hearing the whup whup whup sound. He caught sight of Sasha blowing him a kiss before making her departure in a rage of engines.   
“I'm not going to give up on the Doctor,” TJ muttered to himself.   
The copter was heading westward towards the mainland probably where the clutch of the Amazon stood like a notion of paradise. Now the helicopter crew will find a proper place to land along the coast. Most likely TJ will never see them again. And certainly not Sasha. It almost made him sad.  
However, he was still on the Holderness oil rig where it was crawling with the Eocene. They crowed like frantic animals, their outstretched arm wanting to share their primal horror. They were brutal savages.  
TJ figured he'll need to get to a lifeboat without confronting them anymore. He pulled another arrow to help clear the passage before him. His eyes sought the edges of the rig for an escape route. 

Chapter forty-nine  
One of the Eocenes glared jocularly at him, tilting its head strangely while it stood on its webbed feet. Was it frightened? Was it angry? It studied him under the proverbial microscope.  
Next, while turning to get the lay of the oil rig, TJ saw the rare sight of a lone female Eocene stalking closer to him. Its staggering fins poked out from both sides of the head while its sleek form shifted towards him.  
They moved like lizards on the decks as he reached out for the arrow from the quiver. The clatter of the morning broke out again while it took the air from his lungs in a punishing effect. He pulled on the bowstring.   
And he shot an arrow.   
And shot again.   
In an added effort, shifting with great skill, TJ plugged one of the Eocene with another arrow, but the monster simply took the piercing wood from its chest and snapped it with its reptile hand.   
There grew death waiting at the door of the approaching storm. He thought about calling this place “hell” when he found the surroundings turned against him. The Eocene tossed the broken arrow to the floor.  
“It's now or never,” TJ said.   
He knew he couldn't stay here after the oil rig was being overcrowded by the remaining Eocene. His eyes watched the different forms of the underwater dwellers stirring towards him with baited breath. His hand carried the bow and arrow as he moved deftly like a torpedo across the rig.   
TJ skirted around one of the Eocene which tried to claw at him like a stinging cat. Reaching the edge of the oil rig, standing over the giant eye of the ocean, TJ unhooked the rope for the lifeboat.   
This fight wasn't going to go down smooth if he dawdled here. He kicked own the lever to release the lifeboat, lowering it into the waters below. Without losing a moment, TJ jumped into the cramped space of the boat while it shifted downward in a reeling scurry. Morning was starting to suck out all the night from the skies.   
Cranking his head for a final look, seeing the Eocene following him to the edges with a deadly intent, TJ wondered if he was safe for good. The sloshing of the waking waters could be heard against the boat.   
“Sayonara,” TJ said.   
As the lifeboat rolled onto the waters, making a splendid landing on the cold, ruthless surface of the great ocean, TJ found it to be a tiring exercise. Was it a futile thing to be constant against the bickering tides?   
The ocean seemed to be shrugging him off like an insect. His eyes caught the burning crack of morning glory pouring into the skies.   
TJ felt the boat drifting away from the mighty legs of the oil rig, standing over the water like a behemoth of metal. He listened to the lolling stir of calm waters sprawling beneath him.   
No doubt Sasha will be declaring the Holderness oil rig to be unsuitable for working there or even approach. What now? TJ was going to need to find the Doctor if his life depended on it.   
Seeing the Eocene on the edges of the stalwart structure, their eager forms poised on decks, TJ watched them turn their heads to the water with a collective hunger. He wondered if they were going to follow him.   
No, they were frightened of something else. Their faces cowered from the brightness seeping from the growing morning.   
“They don't like sunlight,” TJ muttered. “Comes from living in the bottom of the ocean.”  
The Eocene took to the waters in a jump, diving into the water to plunge further into the depths without breaking through the surface again. They escaped the metallic girders for the safety of the seas.   
His hand clutched at the next arrow just in case, readying himself for another round of attacks. Nothing ever came for him in the deep of the waters, and he remained in place while he watched the Eocene leave.   
They ignored them while digging deeper into the ocean, leaving him on his own in the waters. Their wiggling forms stirred further into the far depths without confronting him. TJ loosened his grip on the bow.   
“Huh,” TJ said. 

Chapter fifty  
In the apex of the battle, reaching only a stalemate, Narris Keep continued to be plagued by the Sealiathan as it bellowed against the circular dome until another crack splintered in it.   
The Doctor could see her experiment with Augmented Broadcast Telelocator Kit was not making progress. She raced to make a few more alterations while wishing the Eocene did not take her sonic screwdriver before.   
“That thing isn't leaving,” Okkin said.   
“I can see that!” the Doctor said.   
“My people are being destroyed. That monster will be the end for us!”  
“Tell me something I don't know!”  
“Help us!” Nestor said.   
“It would help if I had the sonic screwdriver back! I could use it to boost the soundwaves.”  
“You mean this?”   
Okkin produced a retro-looking, streampunkish type of device in his hand which he had kept on his person. Seeing the prize possession, the Doctor snapped it from the Eocene's clutches with a whooping cry.   
“Yes! Perfect!” the Doctor said. “That's exactly what I need.”  
In a flight of movements, diving into the mechanics, the Doctor gripped the device volume control while she created a monumental force of noise which would wrap around the Sealiathan. She put the sonic device into the input of the contraption.   
Boosting the power of the device, hearing the sonic whirl growing exponentially, she threw all the switches as she heard the soundwaves grow into a bigger noise. It was like hitting the monster with an even bigger fist now. The Sealiathan bellowed with a scream outside the city.  
“That should do it!” the Doctor shouted.   
“What's happening?” Okkin said.   
“I gerryrigged the wires on the sonic device,” the Doctor explained. “I'm hitting the Sealiathan with everything I got! The music is going to break the monster's ears.”  
In a frantic stir in the ocean, glowing with hate, the Sealiathan turned away from the playful tempo of the Beatles song that carried over on a feedback. That top-notch volume of guitar riffs and decibel-driving ramble poured against it in shocking torrents.   
It caused the Sealiathan to turn back.   
“I've just cranked the music up to 11,” the Doctor said.   
No longer able to face the hard rock music, being that wretched noise, almost like toppling a political system, the song grew with a fiery roar while the listener's heart trembled at the thrusting beat.   
The Sealiathan returned to the depths of the ocean while leaving behind the remains of Narris Keep teetering on destruction. The Sealiathan swam downward into the blank pit which engulfed with darkness.   
There was nothing left of it now as the intruding horror dug further into the welcome darkness where it would sleep again. That nightmare folly would no longer bother the city again.   
“It's gone now,” the Doctor said.   
“Thank you on behalf of my people,” Okkin said. “Eventually they'll learn the mistakes they've made following Strongstorm. Now the city is on the verge of being laid to waste...”  
“Not even I can fix the crack in the dome,” the Doctor said.   
“I am king now,” Okkin said. “And there is nothing I could do for the survivors of this city. They do not have a home anymore.”  
“Oh, I have a new place where you could go,” the Doctor replied. “But it means you have to be open-minded. A new life. A place where you can leave your savage past behind.”  
“How can this be?” the wounded creature said. “Where can we go?”  
“I've already sent a message before,” the Doctor said. “And they agreed.”  
“Who? Who are they?” the wounded creature said.   
“That leaves only one thing left. I'll need to get my TARDIS back. The blue box. Find your remaining people before the dome cracks.”  
“That strange object that was brought down with you?” Okkin said. “That is in the docking bay. Of course, you will have it back.”  
“Your city is broken and will turn into debris if we don't hurry,” the Doctor said in a concerned voice, “But your future can still be saved.”  
The Eocene nodded to the Doctor as Okkin made sure their truce with the Time-Lord would be a lasting one, not wanting to cause another fight. They looked for common good.   
Under Okkin's rule, a departure from the radical exploits of the previous king, the Eocene found themselves taking another direction for themselves. It was a good thing.  
Okkin became more reasonable to work with, and the others followed without diverting from their intent. The Doctor put her hand on Okkin's shoulder as she made a smile that could melt glaciers.   
Who was this person who carried so much care in her eyes which seemed older than the universe? Her face filled with great hope that welcomed a doorway of compassion.   
“Oh yes,” the Doctor said. “I have a perfect place for you.”

Chapter fifty-one  
Returning to the blue box which was a prop standing in the docks, it remained on the edge of the broken city. The Doctor busied herself in the console room which looked like a giant cathedral.   
Her hands plotted the course to the next location while the machine hummed around her with a background noise. She hooked over the controls with all the craziness of a mad conductor performing the next magnificent opera.   
Throughout the endless corridors and eye-popping spaces, the Eocene gathered in hindsight of the forthcoming possibilities. They looked at the technology of the gods with a bewildered note.   
It seemed an impossible thing. The TARDIS was much bigger on the inside with the waiting world filled with corridors and rooms. Its stark, powerful and strange surroundings reduced the Eocene into humble citizens.   
A few of them survived. Many died from the attacks.   
So few Eocene, so little time. The Doctor worked with what she had which was the booming horizons of the TARDIS which stretched for miles inside the small box—bigger on the inside than the outside.   
She seemed bemused by the whole dilemma while the Eocene took to looking at the TARDIS with confusion. She worked on setting the next coordinates as her frenzied haste poured with relentless thrill. She was like a tourist guide bringing them on a great journey. Okkin wondered if she was quite right in the head.  
“Where are you taking us?” Okkin said.   
“That is going to be a surprise,” the Doctor said. “You'll be in good hands.”  
“This is more than we deserve,” Okkin replied. “We have been cruel to you and the humans.”  
“Think nothing of it. You're acting on instinct. Now is a new day for your people,” the Doctor beamed.  
“With the fuel source depleted, our city is in ruins,” Okkin said. “We no longer have a home. Now you find us a new one?”  
“You'll have time to thank me later,” the Doctor said. “Is everyone here?”  
“I believe so,” Nestor said.   
“Then it's time to go.”  
There was a knock on the door which rippled throughout the cathedral room of the TARDIS.

Chapter fifty-two  
It was not exactly something you would hear in the middle of a disaster. A knock on the TARDIS doors grabbed the Doctor's attention as she looked up from the console.   
The sounds of the knock spread into the console room with the high windows and the arched ceilings above where the god-like torrents of architecture reached to the skies. Who could it be knocking?   
“What is that?” Okkin said.   
“I don't know, but it seems someone wants to get inside,” the Doctor said. “Is it one of your lot?”  
“I believe everyone is accounted for,” Nestor said.  
The Doctor threw the switch on the hexagonal console as the doors creaked open like a giant maw. Stepping into the blue box was the old man from the oil rig. Hammond looked in with a gasp, his eyes wandered.   
His eyes glanced upwards to view the far-reaching roof and the tell-tale walls which wrapped around him with cosmic advancements. He scratched his head with some confusion.  
“The Exxon Prize was destroyed during the earthquakes,” the old man said. “I got no other place to go...”  
“Welcome on board, professor Hammond!” the Doctor said. “Yes, the blue box is bigger on the inside. And no this is not a dream. Make yourself comfortable, my fine friend! I'm about to make a short hop!”  
“Is this how you travel?” Hammond said.   
“Yes.”  
“And...”  
“Don't mind the Eocene. They're actually a fluffy, lovable bunch, and they're along for the ride. What happened to Murray?”  
“He... didn't make it,” Hammond admitted. “Seems like greed lead him to his fate.”  
“I'm sorry to hear that,” the Doctor replied.   
“As am I,” Okkin added. “My people are not cruel. It was the madness of Strongstorm who led them down that terrible path. I am king now.”  
“You are to be trusted?” Hammond said.  
“The king is dead. Long live the king. They will listen to me,” Okkin said. “You can trust me.”  
“You're a king without a throne,” the Doctor pointed out. “And a king without a city.”  
“I realize this,” Okkin said. “Where must we go?”  
“You'll get there. No worries,” the Doctor said.  
She punched in the controls of the TARDIS as it made the grumbling noises. It rattled with movement while it took flight into the vortex of time and space. It became a garbled noise as the TARDIS made its jump.   
It sounded lethargic as the breathing, humming grew stagnated as the Doctor listened to the thunderstorm of the engines being stalled. She hit the console once with her fist as the time rotor began to shuffled up and down in more confident flight. 

Chapter fifty-three  
It seemed the TARDIS jumped through the rigors of the universe as it made a few shifting turns. The Doctor wrestled with the controls as she pulled on several levers to compensate for the ship's steering.  
The time engines made a throaty, garbled noise before it stopped after a matter of seconds. And the crowd watched her as she made frenzied circles around the console.   
She made a satisfied note and a happy sigh after the ship slowed down to a soft humming. Her hair fell around her face like threads of midnight. She leaned over the console on the flat of her hands with eager bliss.   
“We're here!” the Doctor announced.  
“Already?” Hammond said. “I thought it was going to be a big show.”  
“Not for the short hops. Nothing so extravagant.”  
“Where are all the lighting effects?”  
“There aren't any.”  
Where were they? That was the bold question that dropped into everyone's mind as they stood waiting in the console room. The Doctor gestured for Okkin and his Eocene people to start towards the door.   
She made a theatrical motion with her hands like a magician pulling an act on the stage. Was it all an act or just another illusion? The Doctor threw the doors open when her finger pushed against a switch.   
They were no longer in Narris Keep. It was a different place.   
Beyond the doors grew mossy caves which stretched for miles with pockets of water everywhere. The cradle of rocks poured into an endless waltzed of tunnels pouring through the gouge of subterranean fissures.   
Throughout the choking space of the caves, filled with the fingers of more rocks, was another amazing sight. There stood several figures of a noble race in front of the hollowed den which haunted with darkness.   
Their stoic, reptilian forms shuffled forward with a civilized manner, somewhat jerky motions clogged their mobility. And yet a low chant of words exchanged between them. It seemed to be one of relief.   
They were Silurians.   
The Doctor and a few of the Eocene people stepped out to greet the Silurians in the damp caves where the pots of water sank for unknown depths. It became a crown of rocks flaunting the stripped formations.   
“This is your new home,” the Doctor said. “The Silurians will be taking you in. This is their leader, Krored.”  
“I know of you,” Okkin said.   
“And I of you,” the Silurian said.   
The Doctor continued, “Krored will guide you through the most difficult stages of your people while rebuilding your new city. Right now, you're just refugees. The Silurians will help you relocate. He's agreed to all of this.”  
“The Eocene people thanks you,” Okkin said.   
“I will do my best to help you through the next stage,” Krored said. “You have my word. You are the closest cousins we have.”  
“This lifts my heart,” Okkin said. “My people knew only savagery under the rule of Strongstorm. No longer.”  
“Then we shall show you a more civilized path,” Krored said. “This is where we reach common grounds.”  
The Silurian turned to the Doctor as she was getting ready to make her exit. His rustling voice grumbled under the harsh accent, and his finned features nodded to her with approval.   
“I will not forget this sincere act from you, Doctor,” Krored said. “You have found a branch of my species long disappeared since the ice age. Our cousins.”  
“Think nothing of it,” the Doctor said. “Make it worth my while.”  
“The Eocene people will be safe with us here,” the Silurian said. “And a better tomorrow waits for us.”  
As the Doctor watched the others congregate, forging together to create new relations, her face delighted in this chance for diplomacy to work. Admittedly enough, her track record hadn't been good in the past.  
It was good to take a chance this time around, and her hearts jumped at the idea for success. She hoped things will work out this time. She shifted back through the sheer cleft of caves.   
She headed back to the TARDIS which stood in the thrust of progress. It matched her feelings of hopefulness while a sadness seemed to hang on her while her mind flooded with memories of old.   
“I wonder how long the peace will last,” she muttered. 

Chapter fifty-four  
As the Doctor moved towards the TARDIS waiting in the grip of surrounding rocks, she could see someone standing outside the blue box. It looked like a primitive setting for a box from the advanced future.   
It was Hammond who looked at the caves with disbelief. Mixed with great curiosity, and perhaps dread, he found the courage to step into the caves. Hammond realized the blue box traveled to a different place! It was the most amazing thing.   
“I wonder how the others are doing on the oil right,” Hammond said.   
“I'm going to check on them now,” the Doctor said. “I'm sure they're doing all right. And my friend TJ will be there.”  
“So many things are happening in such a short time.”  
“That's usually how it goes in the TARDIS,” the Doctor beamed.   
“I don't know if I could ever get used to that.”  
“I can bring you back to the Holderness. There's always plenty of room in the TARDIS for an extra passenger.”  
“Doctor, I really don't have any place left to go,” Hammond said. “The oil company will bury this incident under in the news. They'll go after me and my job. They'll probably take my benefits”  
“Oh? Well, I can take you somewhere else. Anywhere you want to go. And especially whenever.”  
“This place looks fascinating to me. There's a wealth of history to be explored down here. It looks like they could make do with an objective observer.”  
“It's not going to be easy living in these parts,” the Doctor said. “You'll be seen as an outsider.”  
“This is what I've been waiting for all this time,” Hammond said. “A real chance to create a new life.”  
“You won't be compatible to any of the species here. You'll be alone,” the Doctor said.   
“I'll be fine with that.”  
The Doctor turned to the Silurians and the Eocenes mingling together like a prehistoric party, moving between the narrow ridges of the caves. Her soothing confidence flooded the mood while she stepped into the growing circle of dignified forms knotted together with a truce.   
Now the Doctor was with the deciding citizens of both races as she lifted her hands to signal for their attention. She carried herself like a hurricane through the knots of creatures.   
“Here is someone willing to stay with you,” the Doctor said. “You'll need a human ambassador here to balance things out. Hammond will fulfill that role admirably. Be good to him.”  
“Of course, all charges against him are dropped,” Okkin said.   
“Then it is settled,” the Doctor replied.   
The Silurians nodded to Hammond, begging him to step into the gathering crowd of his people. The Eocene King also gave Hammond a gentle gesture of peace. It was a new frontier for everyone here.   
“A Silurian, an Eocene and a human,” the Doctor said. “That could make wonders. Could bring a lot of good to the world.”  
“Where will you go now?” Hammond said.   
“I have an appointment with time and space,” the Doctor replied. “Don't worry. I'll come back to check up on you again, and make sure the day is calm. But I never make promises.”  
“Thank you for doing much good for my people,” Okkin said. “You will not be forgotten by me.”  
“Don't do any more killing. That's all I'm asking. I know you call can do it. You can work together, and there's plenty of room for all species here. Now I got one more stop to make!”  
“Don't be a stranger,” Hammond said.   
“I won't!”  
The Doctor raced back into the console room of her machine, that waiting crux of technological feat. She set the coordinates with the fast motions of her hands to make another short hop.   
She moved like a tornado around the console as she listened to the TARDIS pouring a thread of noises that sounded like grinding engines. The booming roars of flight took hold of the blue box as it vanished.   
It left behind the caves filled with hollowed darkness as new beginnings took place here. 

Chapter fifty-five  
Still trapped on the lifeboat, hearing the sifting Atlantic Ocean lapping against the nothingness, TJ tried looking for the Doctor from the small hutch. Not much luck so far in looking for his friend.   
TJ remained on the raft when he thought about going back to the oil rig. How long did he think he was going to last there? With the threat gone from the Holderness oil rig, he might get access to the place.   
It was odd to see the skies clearing up now while fighting the last of the black clouds which simmered into a healthy hue. Sunlight spilled into the water like a golden splash as it sprinkled across with a lively radiance.   
Now TJ began to hear the familiar sound of the TARDIS approaching with the wrinkle of the air tearing up with the blazing noise. His head swerved back and forth while trying to find it. Where was it? Why couldn't he see it?   
Craning his head upwards, TJ could see the blue box hovering above him in mid-air. It was the strangest place to park while he recognized the worn corners and the old doors.   
The TARDIS was sifting just over the floating raft in the water, booming with the lunatic craze of noise which thundered like groaning engines. TJ could see someone poking through the door before tossing a rope climbing ladder. It danged for him as TJ could see the Doctor popping out from the doorway, her hair framing her pretty features like cosmic poetry.  
“Did you really think I would forget you?” the Doctor piped.   
“I was starting to think you would never get here,” TJ said.   
“Think I've missed the party, the Doctor said.   
“They've gone to the mainland.”  
“And you stayed behind?”   
“I had no choice,” TJ said. “Someone's got to look after you.”  
His hand reached for the lowest rung of the climbing ladder as he helped himself to a scrolling movement. His fingers hurt a bit when he pulled himself to the higher rungs.   
“Where would you like to go?” the Doctor said.   
“Anywhere but here!” TJ said.   
“Do you still want to go back to China?”  
“I changed my mind.”  
“You're always doing that. Changing your mind. It's an annoying habit.”  
“I'm coming up now.”  
“I can see that.”  
“How are things at your end?”  
“I'm hoping for the best. Next stop? The universe.”  
Clinging to the rope climbing ladder, TJ shifted more upwards as his feet caught the steps with a steady balance. He could see the Doctor still poking her head out as her hair hanged like black curtains. It made her look like a princess in a fairy tale castle that was a blue box sitting in the air.   
Stranger things than this happened, but TJ was grateful for the Doctor to drop on by to fetch him. She leaned out like an imposing, noble figure, an ancient savior.   
“How about a little trip to Delta Ithacae System? I don't think you have seen the Feijoa Gymnathera forests grow there. They grow for one day and perish only to grow again the next morn. It's the perfect phoenix from the ashes!”  
“Can't we talk about that wen I reach the console room?” TJ said.  
“It is an amazing sight!”  
“I'm sure it is.”  
“The whole universe is amazing. What about 4821 Reticuli? That's a place and a half. So many places to choose from!”  
“It's really hard to talk to you while I'm climbing at the same time.”  
“Climb faster!” the Doctor shouted. “Time waits for no one!”  
In his desperate attempt to move faster, TJ reached for the next rung as the TARDIS shifted like a pendulum over the ocean. Those waking waters poured with a relentless whooshing while the raft below was left behind.   
Soon there grew a clear path for the TARDIS to make its final exit while the ocean stretched for endless miles. Somewhere in the seas, and the earth, there were those in the world creating a new future. That was something to be proud of. 

THE END

34,274 words  
March 27, 2016


End file.
